m 


HISTORY 

OF 

VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES, 

,.    A  USED      IN      THE 

ARTS,  IN  DOMESTIC  ECONOMY, 

AND      FOR      THE 

FOOD    OF    MAN. 

ILLUSTRATED       WITH       ENGRAVINGS. 

IN    TWO    VOLUMES. 
VOL.     I. 


BOSTON. 
LILLY,   WAIT,   COLMAN,  AND   HOLDEN. 

COLMAN,  HOLDEN,  AND   CO.   PORTLAND  :  WM.  JACKSON,  NEW 

YORK;  CAREY  &  HART,  PIUL.AOK}.I>HIA;  COALE  & 

LITTELL.  BALTIMORE. 

1833. 


ADVERTISEMENT 

To  those  who  delight  in  the  verdant  forests,  and  in 
the  richly  waving  fields,  these  volumes  will  be  accepta- 
ble. The  mechanic,  the  farmer,  and  the  horticulturist, 
will  find  matters  of  especial  interest  to  each,  in  their 
unpretending  pages. 

The  descriptions  and  drawings  are  original,  and  from 
nature — and  remarkable  for  fidelity.     They  contain  also 
much  valuable  matter  that  is  new  and  not  elsewhere  to 
be  found. 
.  JANUARY,  1833. 


ADVERTISEMENT. 

The  subjects  of  this  f'olume  (Timber  Trees,  and  Fruits)  are  complete  in 
themselves,  although  they  form  only  a  portion  of  the  matter  intended  to  be 
treated  of  under  the  head  of  "  Vegetable  Substances."  The  remaining 
divisions  of  Esculent  Vegetables,  Spices,  Substances  which  are  used  for 
Clothing,  &c.,  are  in  hand. 


CONTENTS. 


PARTI.— TIMBER  TREES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Page 
THE  OAK          ......  1 

Common  Oak       .  .  .  .  •  .3 

Evergreen  Oak         .....  4 

4 

European  Oak        .  .  .  .  .  11 

Quercitron       .  .  .  .  .  .12 

Cork  Oak  -    .-  *  .  .  .  13 

Oak  producing  Nut-galls         .  .  .  .16 

Kermes        ...*..  19 

Teak  Tree        .  .  .  .  .  .19 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE  PINE        ......  21 

The  Scotch  Fir  .  .  .  .  .34 

Silver  Fir     .  52 


CONTENTS. 
CHAPTER  III. 


The  Larch  .   < 

Norway  Spruce  Fir     .          "  . 

White  Pine  .        t,-.  . 

Cedar  of  Lebanon      .  . 

American  Long-Leaved  Pine 
. .      White  Pine 
.  .       Hemlock  Spruce 
Silver  Fir     . 

The  Douglas  Pine        '    ,k,  . 

The  Lambert  Pine 

Yew  Tree 

The  Evergreen  Cypress 

White  Cedar 

Barbadoes  Cedar 

Red  Cedar 


62 
62 
62 
69 
70 
71 
78 
80 
80 
81 


CHAPTER  IV. 


Chesnut  Tree 
Beech  Tree 
Elm,  Common 

.     Mountain 
Ash,  Common 

.     Mountain 
True  Service 


CHAPTER  V, 


The  Common  Birch 
.     Canoe  Birch 

The  Alder  . 

The  Maple 
.  Great  Maple 
.  Sugar  Maple        • 

The  Lime  Tree 
•"..,'      . .        European 


87 
92 
94 
95 
107 
110 
111 


112 
114 
115 
116 
117 
118 
119 
120 


CONTENTS.  3 

Pago 

The  Horse  Chesnut         .  .  .  ;   ^        122 

The  Poplar  •       *£*  •  •  ...     123 

White  .  .         ...-      ,-..^V        .  124 

Black     .        ,   ..  .  .,..'..        .     125 

..         Trembling,  or  Aspen  .  .  .          125 

Lombardy  Poplar  .....      126 

The  Willow,  &c.  .  .  .  126 

.  Osier     .  .  .  .  .  .  .127 

.  White  Willow       .  .  .          \    .       V  .        128 

.  Weeping  Willow         .  .         .-,.•     '  .129 

The  Hazel        .  .  .  .  ^    ;        131 

.  Laburnum       .        •'  .  .  .  .  .       132 

.  Broom        ......  134 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Walnut  .  .  .  ...   ,"  •        .  137 

Lance-Wood         ......        140 

Hassagay  Tree  .....  141 

White  Mulberry     .         *.  .  .  .  .141 

Black  Mulberry  .  .  .  »,  •  141 

Cultivation,  &c.  of  the  Silk-Worm        .  .  .142 

Paper  Mulberry         .....  145 

Fustic  Mulberry  .....         146 

Common  Mahogany     .....  147 

East  India  Mahogany         .  .         v    .    *        .  .      151 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Trees  of  smaller  growth  &c.,  producing  very  hard 

timber              ......  163 

1.  The  Thorn     •*,•••-•             •             •  153 

.     White  Bean              ....  153 

.     Wild  Service       .        •    . .           .'•*           .  153 

.     Indian  Hawthorn                 .             .             .  154 

.     While  Thorn     .       , ',  '•        .       -     .  .      154 

2.  Holly             .        --4+         m    *  ..    .    .         .  157 

.  Box,  Dwarf          .            .            .            .  .159 

Common             ....  160 


CONTENTS. 


4.  Ebony          '.  >  . 
5.  Lignumvitse             .... 
6.  Black  Thorn     ..... 

Page 
161 
163 
164 

7.  Crab  Tree              »             .  :  g 

164 

Timber  of  Trees  cultivated  principally  on  account  of 
their  Fruit         ...... 

165 

Cherries,  Apricots,  Wild  Plum,  Pear,  Apple 
Fancy  Woods        .            .            .            .            . 

166 
.     167 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Applications  of  Timber            .... 
Roofs,  &c.  of  Buildings       .... 
Wooden  Bridges           ..... 
Ships,  construction  of         .              . 
Light-Houses     ...... 
Forests  and  Planting         .             .             .             .             . 
Duties  on  Foreign  Timber       .... 

185 
.     186 
190 

.     199 
200 
206 
211 

PART  II.—  FRUITS. 

CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODPCTIOW            ..... 

The  Apple             .             .             :             .             ,   fi 
The  Pear        .            .            .                         .            ;""" 

213 
223 
232 
234 

The  Medlar      ...... 

237 

CHAPTER  II. 

The  Pomegranate            .            .       ..... 
The  Fig             .        *   .. 

239 

242 

The  Vine     .... 

252 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Mulberry              .... 
The  Currant  and  Gooseberry         .... 

261 
264 

CONTENTS.  O 

Page 

The  Raspberry 269 

The  Strawberry     .  .  .  .  .  .270 

The  Barberry  .....  274 

The  Elder  .  .....          275 

The  Bramble  .....  276 

The  Cloud-berry  .....          277 

The  Bilberry,  or  Bleaberry  -.*".        .     "        .  279 

Gualtheria  Shallon        .  •  .        _    .  #       .         281 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Melon  .  .  .  .  .  .282 

The  Cucumber  .  ....  .  .  287 

Gourds         .......     288 

Love-apple         ......  291 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Peach  and  Nectarine  ....  298 

The  Apricot  .  .  .  .  .  307 

The  Plum        .  '  .    i  .  .  309 

The  Cherry  .  .  .  .  .  .311 

The  Olive        .       %\  .*          '•;          .  .  315 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Walnut  .  .  sf'      -•  •  .321 

The  Chesnut     ....  322 

The  Hazel-nut         ....       ?• ."  .  ..  .     323 
The  Carob-Tree            .....          325 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  ORANOE  GENUS  ....  328 

The  Citron     ......       331 

The  Lemon  .....  332 

The  Lime         ......     333 

The  Orange  .....  333 

The  Shaddock  .  .  .  .  .336 


6  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Page 

The  Date 349 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  Plantain               .....  363 

The  Banana         ......  364 

The  Tamarind              .....  369 

The  Guava        ......  370 

TheAkee          .             .             .             .                          .  373 

The  Negro  Peach,  or  Edible  Peach         .  .  .374 

Monkey's  Bread          .             .             .     •        .             .  375 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Pine-apple             .....  376 

The  Mammee         .  .  .  .  .  .381 

The  Alligator  Pear       .             .             .   •         .            i  382 

The  Anchovy  Pear             .....  383 

The  Custard  Apple             .....  3!i4 

Wild  Plums         ......  386 

Star  Apple     .             .                     '.-If             .             .  386 
Melon  Thistle,  Torch  Thistle,  Creeping  Cereus,  Indian  Fig, 

or  Prickly  Pear           .....  387 

The  Papaw             ......  £90 

Grenadillas         .             .             .             .  *S                     ,  391 

Cocoa-nut     .             .             •  ,  ,        .  .  _.        .            .  393 

The  Cashew-nut             .....  396 

The  Juvia              .            .        :^«            .            ...            .  397 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Mango        ......  399 

The  Mangostan                                                +  402 

The  Durion                 '  '  •    •         .             .             .             .  494 

The  Malay  Apple     .            .       *   ,           V          .  406 

The  Jaca            ...             >            •            .  407 

Litchi. — Longan        .....  493 

CHAPTER  XII. 

The  Bread-Fruit                                                    .  4jj 

The  Otaheite  Hog  Plum        .            .            .  4jg 

Limonia  Australis             •             •            »            .  420 

Cnstanospermum  Australe     .            .            .  421 


VEGETABLE     SUBSTANCES 

USED     IN 
THE    ARTS,    AND    IN     DOMESTIC     ECONOMY. 


PART  I. 

TIMBER    TREES. 


CHAPTER  I. 

TIMBER  is  one  of  the  most  essential  substances  in 
the  Arts;  and,  in  every  situation  in  which  it  has  been 
found,  mankind  appear  to  have  first  resorted  to  it,  for 
habitations,  for  domestic  implements,  for  the  means 
of  transporting  themselves  and  their  property  by  land 
and  by  water,  and  for  the  formation  of  their  weapons, 
whether  to  be  used  in  war  or  in  the  chase.  The  va- 
rieties of  timber  in  use  among  different  nations  are 
very  many,  and  not  a  few  of  them  are  but  little  known 
in  England.  It  will,  therefore,  be  necessary  here  to 
confine  our  notice  to  some  of  the  more  important. 

THE  OAK. 

In  point  of  strength,  durability,  and  general  appli- 
cation, Oak  claims  the  precedence  of  all  timber ;  and 
to  England,  which  has  risen  to  the  highest  rank 
among  the  nations,  mainly  through  her  commerce 
and  her  marine,  the  oak,  "  the  father  of  ships,"  as  it 
has  been  called,  is  inferior  in  value  only  to  her  reli- 
gion, her  liberty,  and  the  spirit  and  industry  of  her 
people. 

VOL.  n.  1 

.-.-. 


*  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

Of  the  Oak  (called  Quercus,  in  Latin)  there  are 
fourteen  species  described  by  Linnaeus.  During  the 
last  fifty  years,  so  much  attention  has  been  paid  to 
this  important  tree  by  travellers  distinguished  for 
their  researches  in  natural  history,  that  a  surprising 
addition  has  been  made  to  the  number  of  known 
species.  Professor  Martyn,  in  his  edition  of  Miller's 
Gardener's  Dictionary,  enumerates  twenty-six;  Will- 
denow,  who  wrote  in  1805,  describes  seventy-six;  and 
Persoon,  another  eminent  naturalist  of  the  same  date, 
enumerates  eighty-two.  At  present  we  have  more 
than  a  hundred  and  forty  species  described  by  differ- 
ent writers;  and  of  these  more  than  one  half  belong 
to  America.  Twenty-six  species  were  discovered  in 
North  America  by  two  indefatigable  naturalists,  father 
and  son,  named  Michaux;  and  Humboldt  and  Bon- 
pland  have  mentioned  twenty-four  others,  which  they 
found  during  the  course  of  their  travels  in  South 
America.  Of  the  various  species  of  oak,  some  may 
be  classed  with  shrubs,  others  with  the  most  majestic 
trees  of  the  forest;  some  are  evergreens,  and  others 
are  deciduous,  or  lose  their  leaves  during  the  winter. 
The  species  from  which  the  best  timber  is  derived, 
which  is  by  far  the  most  abundant  in  Britain,  and  a 
native  of  it,  is  the  COMMON  OAK  (Qucrcus  robur.) 

The  cut  opposite  exhibits  the  leaf,  flower,  and 
fruit  (the  type)  of  this  tree.  We  shall  introduce  the 
same  mode  of  illustration  in  other  instances. 

The  oak  timber  imported  from  America  is  much 
inferior  to  that  of  the  common  oak  of  England:  the 
oak  from  the  central  parts  of  continental  Europe  is 
also  inferior,  especially  in  compactness  and  resistance 
of  cleavage.  The  knotty  oak  of  England,  the  "  un- 
wedgeable  and  gnarled  oak,"  as  Shakspeare  called  it, 
— and  in  these  two  words  described  its  leading  pro- 
perties better  than  all  the  botanists, — when  cut 
down  at  a  proper  age,  (from  fifty  to  seventy  years,} 


THE    OAK. 


Common  Oak — Quercus  robur. 

is  really  the  best  timber  that  is  known.  Some  tim- 
ber is  harder,  some  more  difficult  to  rend,  and 
some  less  capable  of  being  broken  across;  but  none 
contains  all  the  three  qualities  in  so  great  and  so 
equal  proportions;  and  thus,  for  at  once  supporting 
a  weight,  resisting  a  strain,  and  not  splintering  by  a 
cannon  shot,  the  timber  of  the  oak  is  superior  to  every 
other.  Excepting  the  sap  wood,  the  part  nearest 
the  bark,  which  is  not  properly  matured,  it  is  very 
durable,  whether  in  air,  in  earth,  or  in  water;  and  it 
is  said  that  no  insects  in  the  island  will  eat  into  the 
heart  of  oak,  as  they  do,  sooner  or  later,  into  most 
of  the  domestic  and  many  of  the  foreign  kinds  of 
timber. 

Important  as  the  oak  is  now  in  the  arts,  there  was  a 
period  in  the  history  of  Britain  when  it  was  valued  prin- 
cipally for  its  acorns.  -  It  is  not  recorded  that  acorns 


4  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

were  ever  used  as  human  food  in  this  country,  though 
they  were  so  used,  and  are  still  said  to  be,  by  the 
poorer  peasants  in  the  south  of  Europe.     Cervantes, 
in  his  romance  of  Don  Quixote,  not  only  sets  them 
before  the  goatherds  as  a  dainty,  but  picks  out  the 
choicest  as  a  dessert  for  the  Countess  herself.     The 
oaks  with  edible  acorns  are  not,  however,  of  the  same 
species  as  the  English  oak.     The  Italian  oak,  which 
Virgil  represents  as  the  monarch  of  the  forest,  and 
of  the   elevation  of  whose  top,  the    stedfastness  of 
whose   roots,    and  of  whose    triumph  in  its  green- 
ness over  the   lapse  of   ages,  he  gives    a   splendid 
description  in   the  second  book  of  his  Georgics,  bore 
fruit  which  was  used  as  food.     The  Quercus  ilex  (the 
evergreen  oak),  which  is  still  common  in  Spam,  in 
Italy,  in  Greece,  in  Syria,  hi  the  south  of  France,  and 
on  the  shores  of  the    Mediterranean,  bears  a  fruit 
which,  in  its  agreeable  flavour,  resembles  nuts.     It  is 
a  slow-growing  tree,  and  is  always  found  single,  and 
not  in   clumps.     There   is   another   evergreen  oak, 
Quercus  ballota,  very  common  in  Spain  and  Barbary, 
of  which  the  acorns  are  most  abundant  and  nutritive. 
During  the  late  war  in  Spain,  the  French  armies  were 
fortunate   in  finding    subsistence    upon    the   ballota 
acorns,  in  the  woods  of  Salamanca.     We   are  often 
startled  by  the  assertions  of  ancient  writers,  that  the 
acorn,  in  the  early  periods  of  society,  formed  the  prin- 
cipal food  of  mankind.     Much  of  our  surprise  would 
have  ceased  had  we  distinguished  between  the  com- 
mon acorn,  and  that  of  the  Ilex,  Ballota,  and  Esculus 
oaks.     Some  of  the  classic  authors  speak  of  the  fat- 
ness   of   the    primitive    inhabitants   of  Greece    and 
southern  Europe,  who,  living  in  the  forests  which  were 
planted  by  the  hand  of  nature,  were  supported  almost 
wholly  upon  the  fruit  of  the  oak.     The  Grecian  poets 
and  historians  called  these  people  balanophagi  (eat- 
ers of  acorns) ;  but  then  the  Greek  word  balanos, 


THE    OAK.  O 

which  the  Romans  translated  glans  (acorn),  applied 
also  to  such  fruits  as  dates,  nuts,  beech-mast,  and 
olives.  These  all  contain  large  quantities  of  oil, 
which  renders  them  particularly  nutritive. 

Whether  the  custom  existed  among  the  ancient 
Britons,  or  (as  is  more  probable)  was  imported  by 
the  Saxons  who  came  from  the  thick  oak  forests  of 
Germany,  it  is  certain  that,  during  the  time  when 
they  held  sway  in  this  country,  the  fattening  of  hogs 
upon  acorns  in  the  forests  was  accounted  so  im- 
portant a  branch  of  domestic  economy,  that,  at  about 
the  close  of  the  seventh  century,  King  Ina  enacted 
the  panage  laws  for  its  regulation.  The  fruit  of  the 
oak  then  formed  gifts  to  kings,  and  part  of  the  dowries 
of  queens.  So  very  important  was  it,  indeed,  that 
the  failure  of  the  acorn  crop  is  recorded  as  one  of  the 
principal  causes  of  famine.  One  of  the  most  vex- 
atious acts  of  William  the  Conqueror,  in  his  passion 
for  converting  the  whole  of  the  forests  into  hunting- 
grounds,  was  that  of  restricting  the  people  from  fat- 
tening their  hogs;  and  this  restriction  was  one  of 
the  grievances  which  King  John  was  called  upon  to 
redress  at  the  triumph  of  Runnemede,  where  his 
assembled  subjects  compelled  him  to  sign  Magna 
Charta.  It  is  to  be  observed  that  swine's  flesh  was  the 
principal  food  of  most  nations  in  the  earlier  stages  of 
civilization;  and  this  is  to  be  attributed  to  the  extreme 
rapidity  with  which  the  hog  species  multiply. 

Up  to  a  recent  period,  large  droves  of  hogs  were 
fattened  upon  the  acorns  of  the  New  Forest,  in 
Hampshire,  under  the  guidance  of  swineherds,  who 
collected  the  herds  together  every  night  by  the  sound 
of  a  horn.  At  the  present  time,  the  hogs  of  Estre- 
madura  are  principally  fed  upon  the  acorns  of  the 
Ballota  oak;  and  to  this  cause  is  assigned  the  great 
delicacy  of  their  flesh. 

The  history  of  the  importance  of  the  oak  as  timber 

VOL,    II.  1* 


6  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

nearly  keeps  pace  with  that  of  ship-building;  and 
there  is  little  doubt  that,  from  the  time  of  Alfred,  who 
first  gave  England  a  navy  capable  of  contending  with 
her  enemies  upon  the  sea,  to  that  of  Nelson,  (about 
nine  hundred  years  afterwards,)  in  whom  nautical  skill 
appears  to  have  been  raised  to  the  greatest  possible 
height,  the  oak  was  the  principal  and  essential  material 
in  ship-building.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
inferiority  of  some  of  our  more  recently  built  ships, 
and  the  ravages  which  the  dry-rot  is  making  among 
them,  have  arisen  from  the  substitution  of  foreign  oak 
for  that  of  native  growth.  A  writer  in  a  recent  number 
of  the  Quarterly  Review  has  ascribed  this  evil  to  the 
substitution  of  a  foreign  species  of  oak,  in  our  own 
plantations,  instead  of  continuing  the  true  native  tree. 
In  the  same  way,  the  real  Scotch  fir  has  been  gradu- 
ally superseded  by  a  very  inferior  species,  bearing  the 
same  name;  and  the  reason  in  each  case  appears  to 
have  been,  that  the  seed  of  the  spurious  kind  is  much 
more  plentiful,  and  grows  more  easily,  than  that  of 
the  real  species.  We  subjoin  the  passage  to  which 
we  have  alluded: — 

"  We  may  here  notice  a  fact  long  known  to  bota- 
nists, but  of  which  our  planters  and  purveyors  of 
timber  appear  to  have  had  no  suspicion,  that  there 
are  two  distinct  species  of  oak  in  England,  the  Quer- 
cus  robur,  and  the  Quercus  sessiliflora;  the  former 
of  which  affords  a  close-grained,  firm,  solid  timber, 
rarely  subject  to  rot;  the  other  more  loose  and  sappy, 
very  liable  to  rot,  and  not  half  so  durable.  This  dif- 
ference was  noticed  so  early  as  the  time  of  Ray ;  and 
Martyn,  in  his  Flora  Rustica,  and  Sir  James  Smith, 
in  his  Flora  Britannica,  have  added  their  testimonies 
to  the  fact.  The  second  species  is  supposed  to  have 
been  introduced,  some  two  or  three  ages  ago,  from 
the  continent,  where  the  oaks  are  chiefly  of  this  latter 
species,  especially  in  the  German  forests,  the  timber 


THE    OAK.  7 

of  which  is  known  to  be  very  worthless.  But  what  is 
of  more  importance  to  us  is,  that,  de  facto,  the  impos- 
tor abounds,  and  is  propagated  vigorously  in  the  New 
Forest  and  other  parts  of  Hampshire,  in  Norfolk,  and 
the  northern  counties,  and  about  London;  and  there 
is  but  too  much  reason  to  believe  that  the  numerous 
complaints  that  were  heard  about  our  ships  being 
infested  with  what  was  called,  improperly  enough, 
dry-rot,  were  owing  to  the  introduction  of  this  spe- 
cies of  oak  into  the  naval  dockyards,  where,  we 
understand,  the  distinction  was  not  even  suspected. 
It  may  thus  be  discriminated  from  the  true  old  Eng- 
lish oak:  the  acorn-stalks  of  the  Robur  are  long  and 
its  leaves  short,  whereas  the  Sessiliflora  has  the  acorn- 
stalks  short  and  the  leaves  long;  the  acorns  of  the 
former  grow  singly,  or  seldom  two  on  the  same  foot- 
stalk: those  of  the  latter  in  clusters  of  two  or  three, 
close  to  the  stem  of  the  branch.  We  believe  the  Rus- 
sian ships  of  the  Baltic,  that  are  not  of  larch  or  fir, 
are  built  of  this  species  of  oak;  but  if  this  were  not 
the  case,  their  exposure  on  the  stocks,  without  cover, 
to  the  heat  of  summer,  which,  though  short,  is  exces- 
sive, and  the  lifts  and  chinks,  which  fill  up  with  ice 
and  snow  in  the  long  winter,  are  enough  to  destroy 
the  stoutest  oak,  and  quite  sufficient  to  account  for 
their  short-lived  duration." 

When  the  oak  stands  alone,  it  is  a  spreading  rather 
than  an  elevated  tree:  in  that  situation  the  timber  is 
also  said  to  be  more  compact  and  firm,  and  the 
crooked  arms  of  the  trees  are  better  adapted  for  ship- 
building than  when  the  trees  are  close  together.  In 
thickly  planted  groups,  the  oak  will  reach  an  eleva- 
tion of  eighty  or  a  hundred  feet  before  it  begins  to 
decay;  and  in  some  of  the  choicer  trees,  forty,  fifty, 
or  even  sixty  feet  may  be  found  without  a  single 
lateral  branch,  and  of  such  diameter  that,  even  at  the 
smaller  extremity,  they  will  square  to  eighteen  inches 
or  two  feet.  These  are  as  well  adapted  for  beams 


8  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

and  planking  as  the  others  are  for  crooked  timbers; 
and,  therefore,  in  order  to  secure  a  proper  supply, 
not  only  for  maritime,  but  for  domestic  purposes,  it 
is  desirable  to  have  them  in  both  situations. 

The  trunk  of  the  detached  oak  acquires  by  far  the 
greater  diameter;  some  of  the  old  hollow  trees,  most 
of  which  are  of  this  description,  having  a  diameter  of 
as  much  as  sixteen  feet  in  the  cavity,  and  still  a  shell 
of  timber  on  the  outside,  sufficiently  vigorous  for 
producing  leaves  and  even  acorns.  The  age  to 
which  the  oak  can  continue  to  vegetate,  even  after 
the  core  has  decayed,  has  not  been  fully  ascertained. 
But,  in  favourable  situations,  it  must  be  very  consi- 
derable. In  the  JVew  Forest,  Evelyn  counted,  in  the 
sections  of  some  trees,  three  hundred  or  four  hundred 
concentric  rings  or  layers  of  wood,  each  of  which 
must  have  recorded  a  year's  growth.  The  same  cele- 
brated planter  mentions  oaks  in  Dennington  Park, 
near  INewbury,  once  the  residence  of  Chaucer, 
which  could  not  have  arrived  at  the  size  which 
they  possessed  in  a  less  period  than  about  three  hun- 
dred years;  and  though  he  does  not  say  upon  what 
evidence  the  opinion  is  grounded,  Gilpin  notices,  in 
his  Forest  Scenery,  "  a  few  venerable  oaks  in  the 
New  Forest,  that  chronicle  upon  their  furrowed  trunks 
ages  before  the  Conquest." 

Some  out  of  the  number  of  ancient  oaks  that  are 
celebrated,  it  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  mention: 
— One  of  the  three  in  Dennington  Park,  the  King's 
Oak,  was  fifty  feet  high  before  a  bough  or  even  a  knot 
appeared,  and  the  base  of  it  squared  five  feet  entirely 
solid;  the  Queen's  Oak  was  straight  as  a  line  for  forty 
feet,  then  divided  into  two  immense  arms,  and  the 
base  of  it  squared  to  four  feet;  and  Chaucer's  Oak, 
said  to  have  been  planted  by  the  poet,  though  inferior 
to  the  royal  ones,  was  still  a  most  stately  tree.  The 
Framhngham  oak  (Suffolk),  used  in  the  construction 
of  the  Royal  Sovereign,  was  four  feet  nine  inches 


THE    OAK.  9 

square,  and  yielded  four  square  beams,  each  forty- 
four  feet  in  length.     An  oak  felled  at  Withy  Park, 
Shropshire,  in  1697,  was  nine  feet  in  diameter,  with- 
out the  bark;  there  were  twenty-eight  tons  of  tim- 
ber in  the  body  alone ;  and  the  spread  of  the  top, 
from  bough  to  bough,  was  one  hundred  and  forty- 
four  feet.     In   Holt   Forest,  Hampshire,  there  was 
an  oak,  which,  at  seven  feet  from  the  ground,  was 
thirty-four  feet  in  circumference  in  1759,  and  twenty 
years  after,  the  circumference  had  not  increased  half 
an  inch.     Dr.   Plott  mentions  an  oak  at   Norbury, 
which  was  of  the  enormous  circumference  of  forty- 
five  feet;  and  when  it  was  felled,  and  lying  flat  upon 
the  ground,    two  horsemen,   one  on  each  side  the 
trunk,  were  concealed  from  each  other.     The  same 
author  mentions  an  oak  at  Keicot,  under  the  shade  of 
which  four  thousand  three  hundred  and  seventy-four 
men  had  sufficient  room  to  stand.     The  Boddington 
oak,  in  the  Vale  of  Gloucester,  was  fifty-four  feet  in 
circumference  at  the  base.      The  larger  arms  and 
branches  were  gone  in  1783;  and  the  hollow  cavity 
was  sixteen  feet  in  its  largest  diameter,  with  the  top 
formed  into  a  regular  dome;  while  the  young  twigs 
on  the  decayed  top  had  small  leaves  about  the  size 
of  those  of  the  hawthorn,  and  an  abundant  crop  of 
acorns.     The  hollow  had  a  door  and  one  window; 
and  little  labour  might  have  converted  the  tree  into 
a  commodious,    and  rather  a  spacious  room.     The 
Fairlop  oak  in  Essex,  though  inferior  in  dimensions 
to  the  last  mentioned,  was  a  tree  of  immense  size, — 
being  between  six  and  seven  feet  in  diameter,  at  three 
feet  from  the  ground.     Damory's  oak  in  Dorsetshire 
was  the  largest  oak  of  which  mention  is  made.     Its 
circumference  was  sixty-eight  feet;  and  the  cavity  of 
it,  which  was  sixteen  feet  long  and  twenty  feet  high, 
was,  about  the  time  of  the  Commonwealth,  used  by 
an  old  man  for  the  entertainment  of  travellers,  as  an 
ale-house.     The  dreadful  storm  in  the  third  year  of 


10  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

last  century  shattered  this  majestic  tree;  and  in 
1755  the  last  vestiges  of  it  were  sold  as  firewood. 
An  immense  oak  was  dug  out  of  Hatfield  bog.  It 
was  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet  in  length,  twelve  in 
diameter  at  the  base,  ten  in  the  middle,  and  six  at 
the  smaller  end  where  broken  off. 

Some  oaks  have  been  as  celebrated  for  being  the 
records  of  historical  events,  as  others  have  been  for 
their  magnitude,  although  a  part  of  the  celebrity 
may  no  doubt  be  fabulous.  Not  a  hundred  years 
ago,  the  oak  in  the  New  Forest,  against  which  the 
arrow  of  Sir  William  Tyrrel  glanced,  before  it  killed 
William  Rufus,  is  said  to  have  been  standing,  though 
in  such  a  state  of  decay,  that  Lord  Delaware  erected 
a  monument  to  indicate  the  spot.  The  Royal  Oak 
at  Boscobell,  in  which  Charles  the  Second  concealed 
himself  after  the  defeat  at  Worcester,  has  disap- 
peared; and  though  several  trees  were  raised  from 
its  acorns,  the  race  seems  now  to  be  lost  to  vege- 
table history.  An  oak  of  still  more  venerable  pre- 
tensions now  stands,  or  lately  stood,  at  Torwood 
Wood,  in  Stirlingshire,  under  the  shadow  of  which 
the  Scottish  patriot  Wallace  is  reported  to  have  con- 
vened his  followers,  and  impressed  upon  them,  not 
only  the  necessity  of  delivering  their  country  from 
the  thraldom  of  Edward,  but  their  power  of  doing  it, 
if  they  were  so  determined.  Gilpin  mentions  one, 
more  ancient  even  than  this — Alfred's  oak  at  Oxford, 
which  was  a  sapling  when  that  great  monarch  founded 
the  University.  This  cannot,  of  course,  be  implicitly 
credited;  but  still  the  very  mention  of  such  things 
proves,  that  the  oak  can  reach  an  age  several  times 
exceeding  that  of  the  longest  lived  of  the  human 
race. 

Since  oak  was  so  much  in  demand,  it  has  become 
an  object  of  great  attention  to  planters  ;  and  the  plants 
are  carefully  reared  by  nurserymen  from  the  acorns. 
If  the  saplings  are  to  be  of  considerable  size  when 


THE    OAK.  11 

planted  out  in  their  permanent  situations,  they  are 
several  times  transplanted  in  the  nursery.  The 
deformed  ones  are  cut  down  to  the  ground,  and 
then  a  young,  vigorous,  straight  shoot  is  made, 
instead  of  that  which  was  deformed.  Some  of 
those  who  have  paid  considerable  attention  to  the 
subject  are,  however,  of  opinion,  that  although  trans- 
planting probably  accelerates  the  growth  a  little,  the 
advantage  thereby  gained  is  more  than  compensated 
by  the  deterioration  of  the  timber,  which  is  neither 
so  strong,  nor  so  durable,  as  that  sown  by  the  hand 
of  nature,  or  where  it  is  to  be  allowed  to  remain 
without  transplanting. 

Of  the  various  European  oaks,  the  Quercus  pedun- 
culata  is  the  most  esteemed  on  the  continent.  It  is 
a  magnificent  tree,  considerably  taller  than  our 
native  oak.  In  the  forests  of  Fontainebleau  and  of 
Compiegne  there  are  at  this  day  many  trees  of  this 
species,  the  trunks  of  which  measure  from  thirty  to 
thirty-six  feet  in  circumference  at  the  base,  and  rise 
to  the  height  of  forty  feet  without  a  single  branch. 
Beautiful  as  this  species  is,  it  produces,  however, 
timber  very  inferior  to  our  Quercus  robur.  It  is 
probable  that  the  species  which  is  indifferently  de- 
signated by  French  botanists  Quercus  robur,  and 
Quercus  sessiliflora,  is,  as  stated  in  pages  6  and 
7,  a  species  entirely  different  from  our  real  English 
oak;  for  the  wood  of  the  Quercus  pedunculata  is 
described  by  these  writers  as  harder  and  more  com- 
pact than  that  of  the  robur  or  sessiliflora.  The 
Quercus  alba  of  North  America  very  much  resembles 
the  Quercus  pedunculata.  It  is  found  in  all  the 
countries  of  the  United  States,  from  Florida  up  to 
Canada.  It  is  the  species  chiefly  used  in  ship- 
building, and  for  houses;  and  casks  for  liquors  are 
principally  made  of  it,  as  those  of  the  red  oak  will 
only  contain  dry  goods.  Considerable  quantities  of 
this  timber  are  imported  into  England.  Parkinson 


12  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

relates  that  the  Indians  extracted  an  oil  from  the 
acorns  of  this  species,  with  which  they  prepared 
their  food.  The  quercitron  ( Quercus  tindoria)  is, 
after  the  white  oak,  commonly  preferred  for  the  con- 
struction of  houses  in  the  United  States.  The  bark 
of  this  species  affords  a  yellow  dye,  which  is  a  con- 
siderable article  of  commerce;  it  is  used  for  dyeing 
silk  and  wool.  The  quercitron  is  employed  by  the 
Americans  in  tanning  leather,  chiefly  on°  account  of 
its  abundance;  but  the  yellow  colour  which  it  im- 
parts to  skins  is  considered  a  defect,  and  is  gene- 
rally removed  by  a  subsequent  chemical  process. 
In  the  United  States,  the  bark  of  almost  every  sort  of 
tree  is  used  for  tanning;  the  abundance  with  which 
it  is  procured  rendering  selection  less  necessary.  In 
England,  oak  bark  is  almost  exclusively  applied  to 
this  purpose,  as  it  contains  the  largest  quantity  of 
tannin  of  any  known  substance.  The  leaves  of  some 
trees  may  be  so  applied.  The  Chinese  use  the  coarser 
leaves  of  the  tea-tree  in  the  preparation  of  leather. 

A  fine  oak  is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  of  trees. 
It  conveys  to  the  mind  associations  of  strength  and 
duration,  which  are  very  impressive.  The  oak  stands 
up  against  the  'blast,  and  does  not  take,  like  other 
trees,  a  twisted  form  from  the  action  of  the  winds. 
Except  the  cedar  of  Lebanon,  no  tree  is  so  remark- 
able for  the  stoutness  of  its  limbs  :  they  do  not 
exactly  spring  from  the  trunk,  but  divide  from  it;  and 
thus  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  know  which  is  stem 
and  which  is  branch.  The  twisted  branches  of  the 
oak,  too,  add  greatly  to  its  beauty;  and  the  hori- 
zontal direction  of  its  boughs,  spreading  over  a  large 
surface,  completes  the  idea  of  its  sovereignty  over  all 
the  trees  of  the  forest.  Even  a  decayed  oak, — 

"- '     •   dry  nnd  dead, 

Still  clad  with  reliqte^cf  hs  trophies  old, 
Lifting  to  heaven  its  aged,  hoary  head, 
Whose  foot  on  earth  hath  got  but  feeble  hold — " 


THE    CORK    OAK.  13 

— even  such  a  tree  as  Spenser  has  thus  described  is 
strikingly  beautiful  ;  decay  in  this  case  looks  pleasing. 
To  such  an  oak  Lucan  compared  Pompey  in  his 
declining  state. 

The  CORK  QAK  ( Quercus  suber}  is  not  so  large  a 
tree  as  the  common-oak.  •  There  are  several  varieties  : 
a  broad  leaved  and  a  narrow  leaved,  which  are 
evergreens  ;  besides  other  varieties,  which  shed  their 
leaves.  The  broad  leaved  evergreen  is,  however,  the 
most  common,  and  it  is  the  one  from  which  the  cork 
of  commerce  is  chiefly  obtained.  It  is  mentioned  by 
Theophrastus,  Pliny,  and  some  other  ancient  natu- 
ralists as  being  well  known  in  the  days  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans, — the  latter  of  whom  used  it  for  a 
variety  of  purposes,  and  among  the  rest  for  the  stop- 
ping of  bottles.  They  used,  it  for  floats  to  their  nets 
and  fishing  tackle;  for  buoys  to  their  anchors;  and 
when  Camillus  was  sent  to  the  Capitol,  through  the 
Tiber,  during  the  siege  by  the  Gauls,  he  had  a  life- 
preserver  of  cork  under,  his  dress. 

The  Cork  Oak  is  indigenous,  or  at  least  abundant, 
in  Portugal,  Spain,  part  of  the  south  of  France,  and 
Italy  ;  on  the  opposite  coast  of  the  Mediterranean, 
and  the  Levant.  Spain  and  Portugal  supply  the 
greater  portion  of  the  cork  which  is  consumed  in 
Europe.  The  cork  is  the  bark  which  the  tree 
pushes  outwards,  as  is  common  to  all  trees  ;  but  here 
the  outer  bark  is  of  larger  quantity,  and  is  more 
speedily  renewed.  When  removed,  there  is  a  liber, 
or  inner  bark,  below  it,  and  from  this  the  cork  is  re- 
produced in  the  course  of  a  few  years, — while  the 
tree  is  said  to  live  longer,  and  grow  more  vigorously, 
than  if  the  cork  were  not  removed.  The  first  time 
that  the  cork  is  taken  off,  is  when  the  tree  is  about 
fifteen  years  old.  That  crop  is  thin,  hard,  full  of 
fissures,  and  consequently  of  little  value  ;  and  the 

VOL.    II.  2 


14 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


Cork  Oak — Quercus  suber. 

second,  which  is  removed  about  ten  years  after,  is 
also  of  an  inferior  quality.  After  this,  the  operation 
is  repeated  once  in  eight  or  ten  years,  the  produce 
being  greater  hi  quantity,  and  superior  in  quality, 
each  successive  time.  According  to  Duhamel,  a  cork- 
tree thus  barked  will  live  a  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
The  months  of  July  and  August  are  those  which  are 
chosen  for  removing  the  cork.  The  bark  is  cleft 
longitudinally,  at  certain  intervals,  down  to  the 
crown  of  the  root,  with  an  axe,  of  which  the  handle 
terminates  in  a  wedge  ;  and  a  circular  incision  is 
then  made  from  each  extremity  of  the  longitudinal 
cuts.  The  bark  is  then  beaten,  to  detach  it  from  the 
liber  ;  and  it  is  lifted  up  by  introducing  the  wedged 
handle,  taking  care  to  leave  sufficient  of  the  inner 


THE    CORK    OAK. 


16 


laminae  upon  the  wood,  without  which  precaution  the 
tree  would  certainly  die.  The  bark  being  thus  removed, 
it  is  divided  into  convenient  lengths  ;  and  it  is  then 
flattened,  and  slightly  charred,  to  contract  the  pores. 
This  substance  is  the  rough  cork  of  commerce  ;  and 
it  is  thus  fit  to  be  cut  into  floats,  stoppers,  shoe- 
soles,  and  other  articles  of  domestic  use,  by  the 
manufacturer.  The  cork  of  the  best  quality  is  firm, 
elastic,  and  of  a  slightly  red  colour.  Two  thousand 
five  hundred  tons  of  cork  were  imported  into  the 
United  Kingdom  in  1827.  Cork  burned  in  vessels 


Cork  Tree  in  the  Botanic  Garden,  Chelsea  ;  1829. 


16  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

of  a  particular  construction  gives  the  substance  called 
Spanish  black. 

The  Oak  from  which  the  nut-galls  of  commerce 
are  procured  (Quercus  infectofia)  is  minutely  de- 
scribed by  M.  Olivier,  in  his  travels.  The  species  is 
very  common  in  Asia-Minor  ;  but, .till  the  time  of 
this  traveller,  Europeans  had  very  little  information 
on  the  subject,  although  the  galls  were  a  considerable 
article  of  commerce.  It  is  a  shrub,  seldom  exceeding 
six  feet  in  height  ;  and  it  has  not  only  been  accurately 
described  by  M.  Olivier,  but  was  introduced  by  him 
into  France,  where  it  is  cultivated  as  a  garden  shrub, 
and  grows  well  in  the  open  air. 

The  gall  is  a  morbid  excrescence  produced  by  the 
puncture  of  a  winged  insect,  to  which  Olivier  has  given 
the  name  of  DiploJepis  Gallce  Tinctoriae.  This  ex- 
crescence is  of  a  globular  form,  with  an  unequal  and 
tuberculous  surface.  It  is  developed  on  the  young 
shoots  of  the  tree,  and  contains  within  it  the  eggs  which 
the  insect  has  deposited.  The  best  galls  are  gathered 
before  the  transformation  of  the  insect,  because  in 
that  state  they  are  heavier,  and  contain  more  of  the 
tannin  principle.  When  the  insect  has  left  them,  they 
are  pierced  from  the  interior  to  the  surface.  The  best 
galls  come  from  Aleppo.  The  substance  of  which 
they  are  composed  is  peculiarly  astringent ;  of  which, 
according  to  Sir  Humphry  Davy,  five  hundred  parts 
contain  a  hundred  and  eighty  parts  of  soluble  matter, 
principally  formed  of  tannin  and  gallic  acid.  One 
hundred  and  seventy-four  tons  of  galls  were  im- 
ported into  the  United  Kingdom  in  1827. 

The  instinct  by  which  certain  insects  choose  for  the 
nests  of  their  future  offspring  the  substance  of  vari- 
ous vegetable  bodies,  is  one  of  the  most  curious  pro- 
visions in  the  economy  of  nature.  After  having 
pierced  those  bodies,  they  deposite  their  eggs,  which, 
being  hatched,  produce  /ar«ce,  that  are  more  or 


THE    GALL    OAK.  17 

less  fatal  to  the  vegetable  substance  to  which  they 
are  attached.  According  to  Virey,  an  irritation  is 
produced  by  the  introduction  of  these  insects,  that 
resembles  a  tumour  and  inflammation  in  an  animal 
body.  The  cellular  tissue  swells  ;  the  parts,  which 
were  naturally  long,  become  round;  and  the  flow  of 
liquid  matter  produces  a  change  of  organization, 
from  which  results  a  complete  change  in  the  external 
form  of  the  organ.  In  this  way  is  the  gall  produced. 
The  oak-apple  is  an  excrescence  of  the  same  na- 
ture, though  affected  by  a  different  species  of  insect. 
There  are  various  insects  possessing  the  instinct  thus 
to  deposite  their  eggs,  that  are  furnished  with  an 
apparatus  of  the  most  curious  construction,  neces- 
sary for  puncturing  the  branch,  as  is  done  by  the 
parent;  and  for  piercing  a  way  out  of  the  gall,  as  is 
done  by  the  insect  produced,  after  it  has  passed  its 
larva  state.  Each  species  of  insect  chooses  not  only 
the  particular  vegetable,  but  the  part  of  that  vege- 
table which  is  best  adapted  for  the  reception  of  its 
larvae ;  and  in  this  way  the  same  plant,  for  instance 
the  oak,  sometimes  receives  the  nests  of  twenty  dif- 
ferent species  of  insects.  A  gall  sometimes  contains 
a  single  larva,  sometimes  many,  and  it  is  thus  either 
called  simple  or  compound.  A  late  agreeable  writer 
on  Natural  History  has  given  us  some  sensible  ob- 
servations on  the  subject  of  galls,  and  the  instincts  of 
the  little  creatures  that  produce  them: — 

"  The  insect  that  wounds  the  leaf  of  the  oak,  and 
occasions  the  formation  of  the  gall-nut,  and  those 
which  are  likewise  the  cause  of  the  apple  rising  on 
the  sprays  of  the  same  tree,  and  those  flower-like 
leaves  on  the  buds,  have  performed  very  different 
operations,  either  by  the  instrument  that  inflicted  the 
wound,  or  by  the  injection  of  some  fluid  to  influ- 
ence the  action  of  the  parts.  That  extraordinary 
hairy  excrescence  on  the  wild  rose,  likewise  the  result 

VOL.    II.  2* 


18  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

of  the  wounds  of  an  insect  ( Cynips  rosee),  resembles 
no  other  nidus  required  for  such  creatures  that  we 
know  off;  and  these  red  spines  on  the  leaf  of  the 
maple  are  different  again  from  others.  It  is  useless 
to  inquire  into  causes  of  which  we  probably  can 
obtain  no  certain  results;  but,  judging  by  the  effects 
produced  by  different  agents,  we  must  conclude, 
that,  as  particular  birds  require  and  fabricate  from 
age  to  age  very  different  receptacles  for  their  young, 
and  make  choice  of  dissimilar  materials,  though  each 
species  has  the  same  instruments  to  affect  it,  where, 
generally  speaking,  no  sufficient  reasons  for  such 
variety  of  forms  and  texture  is  obvious;  so  is  it 
fitting  that  insects  should  be  furnished  with  a  variety 
of  powers  and  means  to  accomplish  their  require- 
ments, having  wants  more  urgent,  their  nests  being 
at  times  to  be  so  constructed  as  to  resist  the  influ- 
ence of  seasons,  to  contain  the  young  for  much 
longer  periods,  even  occasionally  to  furnish  a  supply 
of  food,  or  be  a  storehouse  to  afford  it.  when  wanted 
by  the  infant  brood*." 

Reaumur,  the  distinguished  naturalist,  in  his  Me- 
moirs on  Insects,  has.  a  most  minute  and  interesting 
account  of  the  admirable  mechanism  by  which  the 
genus  Cynips  (the  insect  which  produces  the  gall- 
nut)  conducts  its  remarkable  operations.  It  is  pro- 
vided with  a  needle  in  a  sheath,  which  has  most 
surprising  powers  of  extension,  derived  from  the 
peculiar  construction  of  the  whole  body  of  the  insect, 
so  much  so  that  the  needle  can  be  extended  to  double 
the  length  of  the  animal  itself;'  and  thus,  as  we  have 
seen,  it  forms  a  nest  for  its  offspring,  while  the 
young,  in  the  same  manner,  pierce  their  .way  out  of 
the  vegetable  shell  which  has  been  their  protection. 

In  Spain,  in  the  southern  provinces  of  France,  and 
along  the  Mediterranean  coasts  of  Africa,  there  is 

*  Journal  of  a  Naturalist,  page  109. 


THE    TEAK    TREE.  19 

found  in  great  plenty  a  small  species  of  oak,  called 
the  Kermes  (  Quercus  cocci/era),  which  is  remarkable 
for  nourishing  large  quantities  of  a  small  insect 
(Coccus  ilicis),  which,  being  gathered,  forms  an 
article  of  commerce  called  kermes.  The  declivities 
of  the  Sierra  Morena  are  covered  with  the  kermes 
oak  ;  and  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  province 
of  Murcia  have  no  other  mode  of  living  than 
gathering  the  kermes.  Latreille  has  united  this 
insect  to  the  cochineal  family,  which  it  resembles,  not 
only  in  its  form,  but  in  producing  a  scarlet  dye.  Till 
the  discovery  of  the  cochineal  insect  upon  certain 
species  of  the  Cactus  in  South  America,  the  kermes 
was  the  only  substance  used  in  dyeing  scarlet,  from 
the  period  of  the  disuse  and  loss  of  the  Murex  and 
Buccinum, — the  shell-fish  that  produced  the  Tyrian 
purple  of  the  Romans.  The  people  of  Barbary  em- 
ploy the  kermes  for  dyeing  the  scarlet  caps  used  by 
the  natives  in  the  Levant,  and  they  prefer  that  of 
Spain  to  their  own  produce.  In  England,  and  in 
other  countries  where  manufactures  are  extensively 
carried  on,  the  cochineal  has  almost  entirely  super- 
seded the  use  of  the  insect  scarlet  dye  of  Europe. 

Though  the  TEAK  TREE  (  Tectona  grandis]  be  a  tree 
of  quite  a  different  family  from  the  oak,  and  a  native 
of  India,  it  is  used  in  ship-building  like  the  oak,  and 
has  some  resemblance  to  it  in  its  timber.  It  is  a 
tree  of-  uncommon  size,  with  leaves  twenty  inches 
long,  and  sixteen  broad,  and  bears  a  hard  nut.  The 
country  ships  in  India,  as  well  as  many  very  fine 
ones  that  trade  between  India  and  this  country,  are 
built  of  it.  A  specimen  was  introduced  into  the 
Royal  Gardens  at  Kew,  about  sixty  years  ago;  but 
from  the  warmth  of  the  climate  of  which  it  is  a 
native,  it  can  never  become  a  forest-tree  in  this 
country. 


20  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

Besides  its  value  as  timber,  the  teak  has  great 
beauty  as  a  tree.  It  is  found  more  than  two  hundred 
feet  high,  and  the  stem,  the  branches,  and  the  leaves 
are  all  very  imposing.  On  the  banks  of  the  river 
Irrawaddy,  in  the  Birman  empire,  the  teak  forests 
are  unrivalled  ;  and  they  rise  so  far  over  the  jungle 
or  brushwood,  by  which  tropical  forests  are  usually 
rendered  impenetrable,  that  they  seem  almost  as  if 
one  forest  were  raised  on  gigantic  poles  over  the  top 
of  another.  The  teak  has  not  the  broad  strength  of 
the  oak,  the  cedar,  and  some  other  trees;  but  there  is 
a  grace  in  its  form  which  they  do  not  possess 


Teak — Teotona  grandis. 


CHAPTER  II. 
THE   PIN.E. 

ALTHOUGH,  "in  all  or- most 'of.  its  species,  not  next  to 
the  oak  in  the  strength  or  the  durability  of  its  timber, 
the  Pine,  perhaps,  claims  the  second  place  among 
valuable  trees.  It  is  very  abundant,  its  growth  is 
comparatively  rapid,  and  its  wood  is  straight,  elastic, 
and  easily  worked.  Accordingly,  as  oak  is  the 
chief  timber  in  building  ships  for  the  sea,  pine  is 
the  principal  one  in  the  construction  of  houses  upon 
land.  It  is  "the  Builder's  timber:"  and  as,  when  the 
carpenter  wants  a  post  or  a  beam  of  peculiar  strength 
and  durability,  he  has  recourse  to  the  oak;  so  when 
the  shipwright  wishes  to  have  a  piece  of  timber  that 
shall  combine  lightness  with  great  length,  as  for  a 
spar  or  mast,  he  makes  use  of  the  pine. 

The  distinct  species  of  pines  enumerated  by  the 
botanists  are  about  twenty-one.  None  of  these  bear 
flat  leaves,  but  a  sort  of  spines,  which,  however, 
are  true  leaves.  They  are  mostly,  though  not 
all,  evergreens;  but  the  appearance  of  the  tree,  as 
well  as  the  quality  of  the  timber,  varies  with  the 
species,  and  also  with  the  situation  in  which  it  grows. 
Generally  speaking,  the  timber  is  the  more  hard  and 
durable  the  colder  the  situation  is,  and  the  slower 
the  tree  grows;  and  in  peculiar  positions  it  is  not 
unusual  to  find  the  northern  half  of  a  common  pine 
hard  and  red,  while  the  southern  half,  though  con- 
siderably thicker  from  the  pith  to  the  bark,  is  white, 
soft,  and  spongy. 

No  account  can  be  given  of  the  first  use  of  the 
different  species  of  pines  by  the  natives  of  the  coun- 


22  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

tries  where  they  are  indigenous.  The  cedar  of  Le- 
banon appears  to  have  been  used  from  the  earliest 
periods  of  Syrian  history.  The  Romans,  and  after 
them  the  Venetians,  made  use  of  the  larch  for  archi- 
tectural and  household  purposes,  as  well  as  in  the 
construction  of  their  galleys  and  vessels.  The  Nor- 
wegians and  Danes  constructed  their  first  ships  of 
the  pines  of  the  Scandinavian  mountains.  Upon  the 
Gulph  of  Bothnia,  near  the  borders  of  Lapland,  at 
the  bottom  of  one  of  the  forests  sloping  towards  a 
bay,  Dr.  Clarke  saw  a  pine-vessel  of  forty-six  tons, 
just  launched,  which  had  been  built  by  the  natives 
upon  one  of  the  wildest  scenes  of  the  coast,  without 
the  aid  of  docks,  or  any  other  convenience  required 
by  marine  architects.*  The  people  of  the  northern 
parts  of  Britain  still  make  their  boats,  and  the 
rudest  of  them  even  their  cordage,  of  the  pine; 
and  though  the  timber  of  the  pines  of  the  New 
World  be,  upon  the  whole,  less  hard  and  durable 
than  of  those  of  Europe,  it  is  employed  for  ship- 
building, as  well  as  for  domestic  purposes.  The 
pine  found  in  the  bogs  of  Ireland  is  of  a  very  supe- 
rior quality,  and  used  by  the  inhabitants  for  many 
purposes.  Some  persons  of  rank  in  that  country 
have  halls  and  other  apartments  floored  with  bog- 
pine; — while,  in  several  districts,  it  is  the  only  tim- 
ber of  the  peasants,  who  make  of  it  their  wooden 
utensils,  and  also  their  cordage.  It  is  perfectly  proof 
against  the  worm;  and  seems,  in  durability,  almost 
to  rival  the  cedar  itself.  From  the  greater  ease  with 
which  it  can  be  worked,  and  its  aptitude  to  receive 
and  retain  paint,  pine  is  now  chiefly  employed  in  the 
roofs,  floors,  and  internal  finishing  of  houses; — the 
European  sort,  where  it  has  to  bear  a  strain,  or  is 
exposed  to  wearing, — and  the  softer  kinds,  from 
America,  for  internal  mouldings  and  ornaments. 

*  Travels  in  Scandinavia. 


THE    PINE.  23 

As  is  the  case  now  with  a  great  part  of  Canada, 
Norway,  Sweden,  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Baltic,  and 
some  considerable  tracts  of  the  Highlands  of  Scot- 
land, it  is  probable  that,  in  very  early  ages,  great  part 
of  Britain,  with  those  islands  towards  the  north,  in 
which  there  is  now  hardly  a  shrub  of  any  kind,  were 
covered  by  pine  forests.  There  has  been  much  con- 
troversy amongst  the  learned  whether  the  pine  was 
indigenous  to  England.  CaBsar  expressly  says  that 
Britain  had  all  the  trees  of  Gaul,  except  the  beech 
and  fir.  It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  our  names 
for  the  beech  are  derived  from  the  Roman  word 
fagus ;  but  the  fir  has  three  names,  which  are  purely 
British — this  would  seem  to  justify  the  conclusion,  that 
the  tree  was  not  introduced  by  the  Romans,  but  was 
originally  British.*  The  fir  is  perpetually  discovered 
in  such  of  our  mosses  as  were  certainly  prior  to  the 
time  of  the  Romans;  remains  of  the  tree  have  been 
found,  not  only  on  the  sides  of  Roman  roads,  but 
actually  under  them.  But  a  more  complete  proof 
of  the  ancient  existence  of  pine  forests  in  England 
has  been  afforded  by  a  minute  examination  of  an  ex- 
tensive district  called  Hatfield  Chase,  in  Yorkshire. 
This  curious  subject  was  investigated  with  great 
diligence  by  the  Rev.  A.  De  la  Pryme,  and  the  results 
of  his  researches  were  communicated  to  the  Royal 
Society,  in  a  paper  published  in  their  Transactions 
for  1701.  Of  this  paper  the  following  is  the  sub- 
stance ;  and  we  have  generally  retained  the  author's 
own  expressions. 

The  famous  levels  of  Hatfield  Chase  were  the 
largest  chase  of  red  deer  that  King  Charles  the  First 
had  in  England,  containing  in  all  above  180,000 
acres  of  land,  about  half  of  which  was  yearly  drowned 
by  vast  quantities  of  water.  This  being  sold  to  one 

*  Whitaker's  History  of  Manchester. 


24  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

Sir  Cornelius  Vermuiden,  a  Dutchman,  he  at  length 
effectually  dischased,  drained,  and  reduced  it  to  con- 
stant  arable   and  .  pasture    grounds,   with    immense 
labour,  and  at  the -expense  of  •about  400-,000/.     In 
the  soil  of  all  or  mos^of  these  180,000  acres  of  land, 
of  which  90,000  -were  drained,  even"  in  the  bottom  of 
the  river  Ohse,  and  in  the 'bottom  of  the  adventitious 
soil  of  all  Marshland,  and  round  about  by  the  skirts 
of  the  Lincolnshire  Wolds,  unto  Gainsbury,  Bawtry, 
Doncaster,   Bain,   Snaith,    and    Holden,v.  are    found 
vast  multitudes  of  the  roots  and  trunks 'of  frees,  of 
all  sizes,  great  and  small,  and  of  most  of  the  sorts 
which  this  island  either  formerly  did,  or  at  present 
does,  produce;    as    fir,    oak,    birch,    beech,    yew, 
thorn,  willow,  ash,  &c.,  the  roots  of  all  or  most  of 
which  stand  in  the  soil  in  their  natural  position,  as 
thick  as  ever  they  could  grow,  as  the  trunks  of  most 
of  them  lie  by  their  proper  roots.     Most  of  the  large 
trees  lie   along  about   a  yard   from  their  roots,  (to 
which  they  evidently  belonged,  both  ^by,  their  situation 
and  the  sameness  of  the  wood,)  with  their  tops  com- 
monly north-east,  though,  indeed, 'the  smaller  trees 
lie  almost  every  way,  across  the  former,  some  over, 
and  others  under  them;  a  third  part  of  all  being  pitch 
trees,    or   firs,   some   of  which   are   thirty  yards  in 
length  or  upwards,  and   sold  for  masts  and  keels  of 
ships.     Oaks  have  been  found,  of  twenty,  thirty,  and 
thirty-five   yards   long,   yet  wanting  many  yards  at 
the  small  end;  they  are  as  black  as  ebony,  and  very 
durable  in  any  service  they  are  put  to.     It  is  very 
observable,  and    manifestly    evident,    that    many  of 
those  trees  of  all  sorts  have  been  burnt,  but  espe- 
cially the  pitch  or  fir  trees,  some  quite  through,  and 
some  all  on  a  side;  some  have  been  found  chopped 
and  squared,  some  bored,  others  half  split,  with  large 
wooden  wedges  and  stones  in  them,  and  broken  axe- 
heads,  somewhat  like  sacrificing  axes  in  shape ;  and  all 


THE    PINE.  25 

this  in  such  places  and  at  such  depths  that  they  could 
never  have  been  opened  since  the  destruction  of  this 
forest  till  the  time  of  the  drainage.  Near  a  large  root, 
in  the  parish  of  Hatfield,  were  found  eight  or  nine  coins 
of  some  of  the  Roman  emperors,  but  exceedingly  con- 
sumed and  defaced  with  time ;  and  it  is  very  observ- 
able, that  on  the  confines  of  this  low  country,  between 
Burningham  and  Brumby  in  Lincolnshire,  are  several 
great  hills  of  loose  sand,  under  which,  as  they  are 
yearly  worn  and  blown  away,  are  discovered  many 
roots  of  large  firs,  with  the  marks  of  the  axe  as  fresh 
upon  them  as  if  they  had  been  cut  down  only  a  few 
weeks.  Hazel-nuts  and  acorns  have  frequently  been 
found  at  the  bottom  of  the  soil  of  those  levels  and 
moors,  and  whole  bushes  of  fir-tree  apples,  or  cones, 
in  large  quantities  together. 

The  author  of  this  paper  then  goes  on  to  shew  that 
the  Romans  destroyed  this  immense  forest,  partly  by 
cutting  down  the  trees,  and  partly  by  burning  them; 
and  that  these  fallen  trees  dammed  up  the  rivers, 
which,  forming  a  lake,  gave  origin  to  the  large  turf- 
moors  of  that  part  of  the  country.  The  Romans 
themselves  mention  cutting  down  the  British  forests, 
as  well  for  the  purpose  of  making  roads  through  the 
country,  as  to  drive  the  natives  out  of  their  fastnesses. 

In  the  peat-bogs  of  the  bleakest  districts  of  Scot- 
land, the  remains  of  pine  trees  are  very  abundant;  and 
such  is  their  durability,  in  consequence  of  the  quantity 
of  turpentine  they  contain,  that,  where  the  birch  is  re- 
duced to  a  pulp,  and  the  oak  cracks  into  splinters,  as 
it  dries,  the  heart  of  the  pine  remains  fresh,  and,  em- 
balmed in  its  own  turpentine,  is  quite  elastic,  and 
used  by  the  country  people  in  place  of  candles.  In 
England,  too,  subterraneous  beds  of  pines  have  been 
found;  and  though,  in  consequence  of  the  greater 
warmth  of  the  climate,  these  contain  less  turpentine, 
and  are  more  decayed,  the  remains  of  the  cones,  or 

VOL.     II.  3 


26  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES.  4 

seed-vessels,   shew  that  they  belong   to  the   same 
species. 

One  of  the  most  singular  changes  to  which  any 
country  can  be  subjected,  is  that  which  arises  from 
the  formation  of  extensive  masses  of  peat-earth. 
They  are  common  in  most  of  the  colder  parts  of  the 
world;  and  are  known  in  Ireland  (where  they  occupy 
nearly  one-tenth  of  the  surface)  by  the  name  of  bogs,  ~ 
and  in  Scotland  by  the  name  of  peat-mosses.  These 
accumulations  of  a  peculiar  vegetable  matter  are  a 
sort  of  natural  chronicle  of  the  countries  in  which 
they  are  found.  In  the  northern  parts  of  the  island 
of  Great  Britain,  and  in  many  places  of  Ireland, 
especially  in  the  central  parts,  between  the  Irish  Sea 
and  the  Shannon,  they  point  out  that  the  soil  and 
climate  were  once  far  superior  to  what  the  country 
now,  in  those  situations,  enjoys. 

The  era  of  the  first  commencement  of  these  bogs 
is  not  known;  but  as  in  many  of  them,  both  in 
Ireland  and  Scotland,  are  found  the  horns  and 
skulls  of  animals  of  which  no  live  specimens  now 
exist  in  the  country,  and  have  not  been  since 
the  commencement  of  recorded  history,  their  origin 
must  be  referred  to  very  remote  periods.  Not- 
withstanding this,  the  formation  of  a  peat-bog, 
under  favourable  circumstances,  does  not  appear  to 
be  a  very  lengthened  process;  for  George  Earl  of 
Cromarty  mentions  (Philosophical  Transactions,  No. 
330)  that  near  Loch  Broaw,  on  the  west  of  Ross- 
shire,  a  considerable  portion  of  ground  had,  between 
the  years  1651  and  1699,  been  changed  from  a  forest 
of  barked  and  leafless  pines,  to  a  peat-moss  or  bog, 
hi  which  the  people  were  cutting  turf  for  fuel. 

The  process,  according  to  the  Earl's  description, 
which  has  been  verified  by  the  observations  of  others, 
is  this: — The  pines,  after  having  stood  for  some  time 
deprived  of  their  bark,  and  bleaching  in  the  rains, 


*•'  rv, 

THE    PINE.  27 

which,  in  that  country,  are  both  heavy  and  frequent, 
are  gradually  rotted  near  their  roots,  and  fall,  gene- 
rally, by  the  action  of  the  south-west  winds,  which 
are  the  most  violent  in  the  British  isles.  After  the 
trees  have  fallen,  and  have  been  soaked  by  the  rains, 
they  are  soon  covered  by  various  species  of  fungi. 
When  these  begin  to  decay,  the  rain  washes  the 
adhesive  matter  into  which  they  are  reduced  between 
the  fallen  tree  and  the  ground,  and  a  dam  is  thus 
formed  which  collects  and  contains  the  water.  When- 
ever this  takes  place,  the  surface  of  the  stagnant 
pool,  or  the  moist  earth,  becomes  green  with  mosses, 
and  these  mosses  further  retain  the  water.  It  is  a 
property  of  those  species  of  moss  which  grow  most 
readily  in  cold  and  moist  districts,  to  keep  decom- 
posing at  the  roots  while  they  continue  to  grow  vigo- 
rously at  the  tops.  Cold  and  humidity,  as  has  been 
said,  are  the  circumstances  in  which  the  mosses 
that  rot  and  consolidate  into  peat  are  formed;  and 
when  the  mosses  begin  to  grow,  they  have  the  power 
of  augmenting  those  causes  of  their  production. 
The  mossy  surface,  from  its  spongy  nature,  and  from 
the  moisture  with  which  it  is  covered,  is  one  of  the 
very  worst  conductors  of  heat;  and  thus,  even  in  the 
warmest  summers,  the  surface  of  moss  is  always  com- 
paratively cold.  Beside  the  spongy  part  of  the  moss, 
which  retains  its  fibrous  texture  for  many  years,  there 
is  a  portion  of  it,  and  especially  of  the  small  fungi  and 
lichens  with  which  it  is  mixed,  that  is  every  year  re- 
duced to  the  consistency  of  a  very  tough  and  reten- 
tive mould.  That  subsides,  closes  up  the  openings 
of  the  spongy  roots  of  the  moss,  and  renders  the 
whole  water-tight.  The  retention  of  the  water  is 
further  favourable  to  the  growth  of  the  moss,  both 
in  itself,  and  by  means  of  the  additional  cold  which 
it  produces  in  the  summer. 

The  following  account  of  the  conversion  of  forests 


28  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

into  bogs  is  said  to  be  from  the  pen  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  and  it  is  certainly  characterised  by  that  accuracy 
of  observation  and  felicity  of  expression  for  which  he 
is  so  remarkable: — 

"  Extensive  forests,  occupying  a  long  tract  of 
tolerably  level  ground,  have  been  gradually  destroyed 
by  natural  decay,  accelerated  by  the  increase  of  the 
bogs.  The  wood  which  they  might  have  produced 
was  useless  to  the  proprietors  ;  the  state  of  the  roads, 
as  well  as  of  the  country  in  general  not  permitting 
so  bulky  and  weighty  an  article  to  be  carried  from 
the  place  where  it  had  grown,  however  valuable  it 
might  have  proved  had  it  been  transported  elsewhere. 
In  this  situation  the  trees  of  the  natural  forest  pined 
and  withered,  and  were  thrown  down  with  the  wind, 
and  it  often  necessarily  happened  that  they  fell  into, 
or  across,  some  little  stream  or  rivulet,  by  the  side 
of  which  they  had  flourished  and  decayed.  The 
stream  being  stopt,  saturated  with  standing  water 
the  soil  around  it;  and  instead  of  being,  as  hitherto, 
the  drain  of  the  forest,  the  stagnation  of  the  rivulet 
converted  into  a  swamp  what  its  current  had  formerly 
rendered  dry.  The  loose  bog  earth,  and  the  sour 
moisture  with  which  it  was  impregnated,  loosened 
and  poisoned  the  roots  of  other  neighbouring  trees, 
which,  at  the  next  storm,  went  to  the  ground  in  their 
turn,  and  tended  still  more  to  impede  the  current  of 
the  water;  while  the  accumulating  moss,  as  the  bog 
earth  is  called  in  Scotland,  went  on  increasing  and 
heaving  up,  so  as  to  bury  the  trunks  of  the  trees 
which  it  had  destroyed.  In  the  counties  of  Inver- 
ness and  Ross,  instances  may  be  seen,  at  the  present 
day,  where  this  melancholy  process,  of  the  conver- 
sion of  a  forest  into  a  bog,  is  still  going  forward." 

When  a  peat-bog  or  moss  has  begun  to  form, 
there  is  no  limit  to  its  increase,  save  the  pressure 
of  the  water  which  it  contains.  In  the  part  of 


THE    PINE.  29 

Ireland  that  has  been  mentioned — that  is,  from 
the  county  of  Cavan  to  that  of  Kildare,  a  bog  occu- 
pies the  summit  level  instead  of  mountains,  and  is 
in  some  places  at  least  fifty  feet  in  thickness;  and 
though  there  be  partial  islands  of  more  firm  soil  in 
the  extent  of  it,  the  highest  grounds  are  composed 
of  peat.  In  many  parts  of  Scotland,  too,  the  bogs 
occupy  the  summit  levels,  and  are  found  with  a  river 
flowing  from  the  one  extremity  to  the  eastern  sea, 
and  fronj  the  other  to  the  western. 

When  these  bogs  are  situated  high,  and  have  their 
surfaces  sloping,  they  are  comparatively  compact, 
though  at  a  little  distance  from  the  surface  they 
always  contain  a  great  deal  of  moisture.  But  when 
they  are  on  less  elevated  situations,  and  the  surface 
is  partially  covered  with  grass,  they  are  often  of  very 
soft  consistence  below,  while  the  grass  forms  a 
tough  skin  on  the  surface.  In  Ireland  these  are 
called  moving-bogs,  and  in  Scotland  quaking  mosses. 
They  are  very  perilous  to  travellers,  and  cannot  in 
general  be  pastured  by  cattle. 

In  seasons  which  are  very  rainy,  those  bogs  are 
apt  to  imbibe  a  greater  portion  of  moisture  than  the 
surface  can  retain;  but  as  the  surface  is  not  of  a 
kind  through  which  the  water  can  percolate  and 
escape  quietly,  a  disruption  takes  place  ;  and  when, 
which  is  by  no  means  unfrequently  the  case,  the  bog 
is  situated  on  a  base  higher  than  the  adjoining  cul- 
tivated fields,  it  bursts,  and  covers  them  with  a  black 
deluge. 

These  burstings,  or  motions  of  bogs,  are  by  no 
means  unfrequent  in  Ireland,  where  there  have  been 
some  of  very  recent  occurrence  ;  but  one  of  the  most 
singular  is  that  of  the  disruption  of  the  Solway 
Moss  on  the  confines  of  England  and  Scotland, 
which  took  place  on  the  16th  of  December,  1772. 

The  Solway  Moss   occupied  an   extent  of  about 

VOL    II.  3* 


30  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

thirteen  hundred  acres,  had  a  comparatively  tough 
surface,  or  covering,  but  was  very  soft  beneath,  and 
vibrated  very  much  when  trod  upon.  So  dangerous 
was  its  surface,  that  a  number  of  the  army  of  Sinclair, 
in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.,  were  lost  in  it,  more 
especially  those  who  were  on  horseback;  and  it  is  said 
that  the  skeleton  of  a  trooper  and  his  horse,  and  the 
armour  of  the  rider,  were  found,  not  long  before  the 
disruption  of  the  moss.  The  Solway  Moss  stretched 
along  an  eminence,  varying  in  height  from  fifty  to 
eighty  feet  above  the  fertile  plain  which  lay  between 
it  and  the  river  Esk.  The  centre  of  the  surface  was 
comparatively  flat,  and  consisted  of  very  loose  quag- 
mires, interspersed  with  hummocks,  or  hassocks,  of 
coarse  grass.  Previous  to  the  16th  of  December 
there  had  been  very  heavy  rains,  and  the  waters  ac- 
cumulated from  their  not  being  able  to  find  vent. 
The  surface  rose,  till  the  pressure  of  the  water  became 
too  great  for  its  strength,  and  then  it  burst  with  con- 
siderable noise,  and  descended  into  the  plain,  carry- 
ing ruin  wherever  it  went.  The  time  of  the  bursting 
was  about  eleven  at  night  on  the  15th,  and  the  inha- 
bitants of  the  farms  and  hamlets  that  were  nearest  to 
the  moss  were  surprised  in  their  beds  by  the  unex- 
pected visiter. 

In  the  rate  of  its  progress  the  eruption  of  this 
moss  resembled  those  of  the  lavas  of  Etna  and 
Vesuvius,  which,  when  in  a  half  consolidated  state, 
creep  over  the  plains,  and  cover  them  with  ruin. 
In  consequence  of  the  slowness  of  its  motion  no 
lives  were  lost,  but  many  of  the  people  escaped 
with  difficulty.  It  is  much  more  easy  to  ima- 
gine than  to  describe  the  consternation  into  which 
the  poor  inhabitants  of  Eskdale  were  thrown  by 
this  event.  They  were  a  simple  rustic  people,  not 
a  little  superstitious,  and,  therefore,  when  the  dark 
and  semi-fluid  mass  began  to  crawl  along  their  plains, 


THE    PINE.  31 

awakening  them  from  their  sleep  by  its    invasion, 
they  could  not  but  be    alarmed.      The  attempts  to 
escape  from  the  houses  led  to  new  alarms  ;  for  when 
the  door  was  opened  a  torrent  was  ready  to  enter  : 
and  they  to  whom   the   visitation  first  came  were, 
both  from  that  visitation  itself,  and  from  ignorance 
of  its  real  cause,  in  very  great  consternation.     They, 
however,   spread  the  alarm;  and  driving  their  cattle 
before  them,  and  carrying  their  children  and  the  most 
valuable  and  portable  of  their  household  articles,  they 
roused  their  neighbours  as  they  went.     It  was  fortu- 
nate that  the   inhabitants   were   scattered   over  the 
country,   for  had  they  been  collected  into  a  village, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  alarm  and  confusion 
would  have  occasioned  the  loss  of  many  lives.     But 
though  the  people  themselves,  and,  generally  speak- 
ing, their  cattle  escaped,  they  were,  for  the  most  part, 
obliged  to  leave  their  corn  to  be  buried  under  the 
black  deluge.  When  the  morning  dawned,  the  appear- 
ance of  their  homes  was  sadly  changed.     Instead  of 
fields,   and  little   hedge-rows,    and  cottage-gardens, 
with  all  the  other  interesting  features  of  a  rich   and 
rural  country,  there  was  one  black  waste  of  peat 
earth.     Some  of  the  cottages  had  totally  disappeared, 
others  presented  only  the  roof,  the   eaves  of  which 
were  at  least  eight  feet  from  the  ground.     When  first 
seen,  the  extent  that  the  moss  covered  was  not  less 
than  two  hundred  acres.     Successive  torrents  of  rain 
that  fell  afterwards  augmented  the  mischief,  till  ulti- 
mately the  whole  surface   covered  extended  to   at 
least  four  hundred  acres.     The  highest  parts  of  the 
moss  had  subsided  to  the  depth  of  about  twenty-five 
feet,  and  the  height  of  the  moss  on  the  lowest  parts 
of  the  country  which  it  had  invaded  was,   at  least, 
fifteen  feet. 

The  bursting  of  the  Solway  Moss  resembled,  to  a 
certain  extent,  the  letting  out  of  a  dam.     Between  it 


32  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

and  the  cultivated  plain,  the  bottom  of  the  moss  was 
lower  than  the  general  level  of  a  sort  of  ridge  that 
formed  the  boundary  between  them.  But  in  this 
ridge  there  was  one  depression,  not  unaptly  called 
the  "  Gap;"  and  through  that  the  flood  of  moss 
and  water  descended.  This  gap  was  from  100  to 
150  feet  in  width;  and  there  can  be  no  question 
that  the  resistance  which  the  fluid  met  with  in  it 
tended  to  the  safety  of  the  people :  for  had  the  whole 
come  upon  them  in  a  continued  sheet,  the  danger 
and  difficulty  of  escape  would  have  been  much 
greater. 

Pine  is  not  the  only  timber  found  in  those  bogs, 
though  it  be  the  kind  most  frequently  met  with  in 
a  mountainous  country, — more  especially  of  those 
places  where  forests  of  pines  are  still  growing,  or 
which  are  favourable  to  their  growth.  Pines  do  not 
thrive  in  low  situations,  or  by  the  banks  of  slow- 
running  rivers.  The  timber  which  grows  best  in 
those  situations  (in  cold  countries)  is  alder,  and  it 
is  consequently  the  timber  most  generally  found  in 
river-side  peat;  though,  in  consequence  of  the 
warmth,  peat  is  hot  very  apt  to  form  in  such  situa- 
tions. The  greater  accumulations  of  it  are  on  higher 
grounds,  and  often  on  the  summits  of  the  mountains. 

In  some  places,  which  are  of  intermediate  height, 
there  often  appears  a  singular  stratification  in  the 
bogs,  which  indicates  a  succession  of  changes  of 
climate,  all  for  the  worse;  and  as  the  junctions  of 
these  strata  are  sometimes  pretty  well  defined,  it  is 
difficult  to  account  for  them  by  any  regular  succes- 
sion of  seasons.  We  are  thence  led  to  conclude, 
that,  after  the  one  species  was  formed,  a  pause  of 
some  years  at  least  must  have  taken  place  before  the 
soil  and  climate  were  in  a  fit  state  for  the  production 
of  the  others.  There  may  be  exceptions;  but  in  so 
far  as  our  observation  has  gone,  the  oak  forms  in 


THE    PINE.  33 

those  stratified  bogs  the  lowermost  timber.  It  is  at 
the  very  bottom,  reposing  generally  upon  sand  or 
clay,  without  any  trace  of  vegetable  mould,  which 
appears  to  have  been  absorbed  by  the  mosses,  or  in- 
corporated with  them  into  the  very  hard  peat  in 
which  the  oak  is  contained.  It  may  be  proper  also 
to  mention,  that  the  roots  of  the  oak  are  wholly  con- 
tained in  the  moss,  and  do  not,  in  any  instance  that 
we  have  seen,  penetrate  into  the  sand  or  clay.  Some 
of  the  oaks  that  have  been  found  in  the  peat  mosses 
of  Scotland  are  of  large  dimensions,  and  they  are 
often  met  with  in  situations  where  oaks  now  grow 
with  difficulty,  and  never  attain  any  size;  and 
hence,  as  the  oak  is  not  a  native  of  very  cold 
climates,  we  may  conclude  that  the  climate  of 
those  places  must  have  been  more  genial  at  some 
former  period  than  it  is  at  present.  Pines  are  not 
very  generally  found  in  the  same  bogs  or  mosses 
with  oak;  but  when  they  are  so,  they  occur  about 
the  same  apparent  period  of  the  formation,  and  are 
to  be  traced  only  on  the  more  elevated  parts  of  the 
original  surface  on  which  the  bog  rests. 

The  stratum  of  peat  in  which  the  oak  is  contained 
is,  as  has  been  mentioned,  of  a  compact  texture,  and 
some  of  it  forms  a  fuel  but  little  inferior  to  coal. 
About  it  there  is  often  found  a  stratum,  in  which 
there  is  much  more  wood  than  that  below;  but  the 
kinds  are  different.  Birch  and  hazel  are  the  prevail- 
ing woods  in  that  second  stratum:  the  timber  is  in 
general  decayed;  but  the  nuts  of  the  hazel  are  in  a 
state  of  considerable  preservation;  and  some  of  the 
seeds  that  have  been  found  at  this  depth  have  vege- 
tated, though  they  had  probably  lain  for  several  cen- 
turies in  the  peat  earth,  in  which  their  outer  coats 
must  have  been  literally  tanned.  When  there  is  a 
third  stratum  of  wood,  which  is  not  often  the  case, 
the  timber  which  it  contains  is  chiefly  alder,  with 


34 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


the  twigs  of  the  bog-myrtle  (Myrica  Gale).  After 
these,  the  peat  becomes  of  a  very  spongy  nature,  and 
contains  no  vegetable  substance  of  larger  dimensions 
than  the  steam  of  a  heath,  and  not  very  often  that. 
The  smaller  portions  of  peat  which  lie  in  dells,  in 
countries  not  much  elevated,  contain  in  general  only 
the  twigs  and  the  nuts  of  hazel.  The  fall  of  timber 
is  not,  however,  essential  to  the  formation  of  peat 
bogs,  for,  in  many  of  them,  the  remains  of  trees  have 
not  been  found. 


Scotch  Fir. — Pinus  sylvestris- 

The  pines  found  native  in  Britain,  whether  buried 
in  the  earth,  or  growing  on  its  surface,  are  all  of  one 
species, — the  Pinus  sylvestris,  or  wild  pine — in  this 
country  usually  termed  the  Scotch  fir.  This  pine  is 
very  generally  diffused.  It  is  found  in  all  the  northern 
regions,  and  in  elevated  ones  considerably  to  the 
south.  The  timber  which  it  produces  is  called  red 
deal,  or  yellow  deal,  according  to  the  colour;  and  as 
deals  are  the  form  in  which  it  is  often  conveniently  im- 


THE    SCOTCH     FIR.  35 

ported  from  Norway  and  the  Baltic,  the  word  deal  has 
become  the  common  name  for  all  sorts  of  pine  timber. 
With  the  exception  of  cedar  and  larch,  in  respect 
of  toughness  and  durability  Scotch  fir  produces 
better  timber  than  any  of  the  pines.  It  is  good,  too, 
almost  in  proportion  to  the  slowness  of  its  growth. 
When  it  is  cut  directly  to  the  centre,  or  right  across 
the  grain,  as  for  breasts  of  violins,  and  the  sounding- 
boards  of  other  musical  instruments,  it  is  very  beau- 
tiful, the  little  stripes  formed  by  the  annual  layers 
being  small  and  delicate,  and  in  perfectly  straight 
lines.  This  pine  very  often,  though  not  in  trees 
completely  matured,  contains  sap-wood  next  the 
bark;  and  toward  the  pith  it  is  a  little  spongy.  The 
best  part  is  that  nearest  the  root;  and  the  roots 
themselves  are  excellent  for  any  purpose  that  their 
size  and  shape  will  answer.  It  has  been  mentioned, 
that  pine  timber  is  best  in  cold  situations;  it  is  also 
best  on  light  soils,  and  when  planted  by  nature.  On 
strong  clay  it  grows  badly,  and  the  timber  is  worth 
little;  and  on  rich  loams,  though  it  grows  rapidly, 
the  timber  is  of  inferior  quality,  and  contains  a  great 
deal  of  sap-wood.  At  what  tune  the  sap-wood 
changes  to  durable  wood  has  not  been  determined  by 
very  accurate  observation;  although  most  writers  on 
vegetable  physiology  conceive  that  the  ligneous  mat- 
ter is  deposited  in  the  second  year.  We  have  counted 
four  or  five  annual  layers  of  sap  upon  some  trees, 
more  than  a  dozen  on  others;  and  where  trees  have 
been  much  exposed  to  the  mid-day  sun,  we  have  seen 
the  whole  southern  half  little  better  than  sap-wood, 
while  the  northern  half  contained  only  a  layer  or  two 
at  the  circumference. 

Pines,  and  this  pine  in  particular,  occur  in  much 
more  extensive  forests,  and  with  a  far  less  admixture 
of  other  trees,  than  any  other  genus  whatever.  Im- 
mense districts  in  North  America  are  covered  with 


36  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

them;  and  so  are  the  mountains  of  Sweden  and 
Norway,  and  the  sandy  tracts  near  the  Baltic.  In 
Poland  also,  upon  each  side  of  the  river  JVIemel,  they 
grow  in  great  abundance,  so  that  Memel  fir  is  im- 
ported into  this  country  hi  large  quantities. 

Though  the  pine  is  not  the  timber  that  we  last  meet 
with  on  the  confines  of  the  snow,  as  we  ascend  high 
mountains,  or  at  the  verge  of  vegetation  as  we  ap- 
proach the  pole,  yet,  after  a  certain  elevation,  and 
north  of  the  latitude  of  about  55°,  it  is  by  far  the 
most  abundant  timber,  in  Europe,  hi  America,  and 
in  Asia.  From  the  peculiar  nature  of  the  surface  in 
Siberia, — the  country  which  occupies  the  north  of 
Asia, — from  the  intense  cold,  and  lowness  of  the  por- 
tion next  to  the  sea,  the  forests  in  that  part  of  the  world 
are  not  very  extensive,  till  we  arrive  at  some  distance 
from  the  Arctic  ocean.  In  America,  too,  there  are 
naked  tracts  between  the  sea,  or  the  ice,  or  the  polar 
land,  or  whatever  may,  on  the  part  of  the  boundary 
that  has  not  been  explored,  lie  further  north  than 
discovery  has  yet  reached.  But,  from  the  summit  of 
the  ridge  that  extends  from  the  dreary  shores  of  La- 
brador westward,  across  the  country,  till  it  subsides 
in  the  central  marshes  about  Lake  Winnipec,  and  on 
the  south  side  of  the  vast  estuary  of  the  St.  Lawrence, 
as  far  as  the  boundary  of  the  United  States,  the  land, 
before  it  began  to  be  cleared  by  European  settlers, 
was  covered  by  one  immense  forest  of  pine;  and 
much  of  the  clearing  has  been  accomplished  by 
burning,  or  otherwise  destroying  the  trees.  On  the 
south  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  forest  reached 
down  to  the  water  along  the  whole  shore,  and  upon 
the  islands;  and  advantage  has  been  taken  of  this  to 
send  a  great  deal  of  the  most  accessible  of  the  timber 
to  the  European  market,  and  to  distil  into  tar  a  good 
deal  of  that  which  was  not  so  accessible. 

The  pine  forests  'of  the  north  of  Europe  are,  how- 


THE     PINE.  37 

ever,  the  most  valuable,  especially  on  account  of  the 
quality  of  their  timber.  Once  they  abounded  over 
the  greater  part  both  of  the  continent  and  the  islands, 
but  in  the  latter  situations  they  have  been  exhausted 
somewhat  wantonly.  Not  much  more  than  a  century, 
or  a  century  and  a  half  ago,  there  was  an  extensive 
pine  forest  in  the  north  of  Ireland,  in  that  elevated 
part  of  the  country  which  extends  through  the  coun- 
ties of  Donegal  and  Tyrone,  and  separates  the  rivers 
that  flow  to  the  sea  on  the  north,  from  those  that 
flow  south  and  east  to  Loughs  Earn  and  Neagh. 
Hardly  a  vestige  of  that  forest  now  remains,  nor  is 
there  any  very  clear  account  of  what  became  of  it. 

In  the  lowlands  and  rich  soils  of  Scotland  there 
perhaps  never  was  an  extensive  pine  forest ;  but  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  upon  the  uplands  the  pine 
was  once  as  general  as  it  now  is  in  the  back  settle- 
ments of  Upper  Canada.  Of  these  forests  many 
vestiges  still  remain.  The  fragment  which  lies  far- 
thest to  the  south-west  is  that  of  Rannoch,  on  the 
confines  of  the  shires  of  Perth,  Inverness  and  Ar- 
gyle.  The  greater  part  of  that  forest  has,  how- 
ever, been  felled,  and  the  timber  was  floated  down 
the  Tummel  and  the  Tay,  for  a  distance  of  at  least 
sixty  miles  to  Perth,  from  Rannoch.  The  roots  that 
remain  bleaching  on  the  surface,  and  the  occasional 
trees  that  are  still  found  in  sheltered  situations,  or  in 
situations  which  are  not  accessible,  afford  evidence 
that  the  forest  once  extended  eastward  not  only  to  the 
remaining  woods  of  Mar,  at  the  sources  of  the  Dee 
and  the  Don,  in  the  west  part  of  Aberdeenshire,  but 
to  the  shore  of  the  sea  along  that  bleak  ridge  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  county^  of  Mearns,  which  forms 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  valley  of  the  Dee,  and 
in  the  very  extensive  peat  moss,  upon  which  pine  is 
the  submerged  timber  almost  exclusively  found.  Fur- 
ther to  the  north,  the  pine  forest  appears  once  to  have 

VOL.    II.  4 


38  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

reached  much  nearer  to  the  sea;  though  in  the  low- 
lands of  the  shires  of  Aberdeen  and  Moray  the  chief 
evidence  of  it  now  is  in  the  peat  mosses  or  bogs:  in 
these,  however,  it  is  abundant — so  much  so,  that  it 
forms  an  article  of  commerce,  not  only  in  the  villages 
near  which  it  is  found,  but  in  the  city  of  Aberdeen. 
The  sapwood  is  altogether  gone;  and,  indeed,  the 
principal  remains  are  roots;  but  they  contain  a  vast 
quantity  of  turpentine:  this  renders  them  much 
superior  to  any  other  wood  for  kindling  fires;  and  in 
the  country  districts  slips  of  them  are  used  as  a  sub- 
stitute for  candles. 

Along  the  shores  of  the  Moray  Firth,  no  remains 
of  the  forest  are  found  above  ground,  on  the  slopes 
of  the  mountains  that  are  nearest  to  the  sea;  but  at 
what  may  be  considered  as  the  highest  summit  of  the 
Grampians,  amidst  the  immense  mountains  of  Cairn- 
gorm, Brae  Riach,  and  Ben-mhuic-dhu,  there  are 
very  extensive  forests  in  the  glens  or  valleys  of  the 
rivers  that  flow  northward  to  the  Spey.  The  estate 
of  Rothiemurchus,  in  that  part  of  Scotland,  consists 
almost  exclusively  of  natural  pine  forests.  In  places 
where  it  can  be  removed,  the  timber  of  this  forest  is 
of  great  value,  and  forms  the  chief  revenue  of  the 
proprietor  of  the  estate.  The  surface  has,  generally 
speaking,  a  northern  aspect;  and,  in  consequence  of 
the  very  high  mountains  which  lie  to  the  south, 
with  at  least  some  part  of  their  summits  covered  with 
perpetual  snow,  the  climate  is  very  cold,  so  that  the 
pine  of  Rothiemurchus  is  full  of  turpentine,  and  is 
of  excellent  quality.  A  considerable  portion  of  the 
pine  which  is  in  the  most  accessible  places  has  been 
cut  down;  but,  differing  from  many  other  parts  of 
Scotland,  a  succession  springs  up,  and  that  forest 
appears  to  have  still  the  power  of  continuing  itself, 
and  is,  perhaps,  the  only  pine  forest  in  the  island 
which  has  that  power. 


THE    PINE.  39 

The  Rothiemurchus  pine  is  generally  floated  down 
the  river  Spey;  and  when  it  is  once  brought  to  that 
river,  the  passage  of  a  raft  is  a  matter  of  little  diffi- 
culty at  any  season.  In  times  of  drought  there  is, 
however,  a  good  deal  of  difficulty  in  getting  the 
timber  to  the  Spey;  and,  in  order  to  accomplish  that 
object,  the  workmen  collect  the  trees  in  the  dell,  or 
den,  build  up  a  temporary  dam,  and  wait  the  coming 
of  a  flood,  which,  in  a  country  of  so  varied  surface, 
is  of  frequent  occurrence.  When  the  flood  comes, 
and  the  temporary  dam  is  full  of  water,  they  break 
down  the  dyke,  and  away  go  the  whole  contents, 
thundering  down  to  the  Spey. 

On  the  hills  to  the  northward  of  the  Spey,  and 
just  opposite  to  Rothiemurchus,  there  is  a  good  deal 
of  timber  on  the  banks  of  the  Dulnan;  but  in  that 
part  of  the  country  the  forest  is  decreasing.  The 
timber  there,  however,  is  of  good  quality,  though, 
perhaps,  not  altogether  equal  to  that  of  Rothie- 
murchus. 

The  principal  rivers  by  which  timber  is  floated  to 
the  sea  from  the  remains  of  the  Sylva  Caledonice, 
or  Great  Scottish  Forest,  beside  the  Tay  and  Spey, 
as  has  been  mentioned,  and  the  Dee,  by  which  the 
timber  of  Mar  is  floated  to  Aberdeen,  are  the  Ness 
and  the  Beauly,  both  in  Inverness-shire.  The  pines 
on  the  Ness  are  to  a  considerable  extent  exhausted; 
and  the  trees  that  are  now  found  in  the  remote 
places  are,  when  cut,  thrown  into  the  small  rivers, 
and  float  to  Loch  Ness.  On  the  Beauly  the  forests 
are  more  extensive;  and  there  are  regular  saw-mills 
about  midway  between  the  forest  and  the  sea,  at 
which  the  trees  are  cut  into  scantlings.  ,  To  the 
mills  the  trees  float  down  the  river;  and  at  one 
place  they  have  to  descend  a  cascade  of  at  least 
forty  feet  in  height.  This  they  sometimes  do 
with  so  much  violence,  that  they  are  split  to 


40  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

threads.  In  that  place,  too,  they  have  recourse  to 
an  artificial  dam;  but  the  dam  is  made  of  the  trees 
themselves,  which  are  left  in  a  heap  till  the  swelling 
of  the  river  carries  them  away.  Pines  have  not  been 
found  in  Scotland  at  an  elevation  of  more  than  1500 
or  2000  feet;  and  at  even  less  than  that,  they  are 
very  stunted,  if  not  sheltered  in  the  ravines. 

The  immense  Scandinavian  forest,  which  occupies 
the  slopes  of  the  mountains,  and  banks  of  the  rivers 
and  arms  of  the  sea,  in  all  the  central  parts  of 
Sweden  and  Norway,  is  one  of  the  most  conside- 
rable on  the  Continent.  This  forest  consists  for 
the  most  part  of  Scotch  fir  and  spruce,  the  former 
yielding  red  or  yellow  deal,  and  the  latter  white. 
In  very  many  places,  both  on  the  Swedish  and  the 
Norwegian  side  of  the  mountains,  these  forests  are 
not  accessible;  and  they  are  of  value  only  when 
situated  near  the  banks  of  a  lake,  an  arm  of  the  sea, 
or  a  river. 

Dr.  Clarke  gives  the  following  account  of  the  ex- 
tent of  the  pine-forests  on  the  Swedish  side  of  the 
Gulph  of  Bothnia: 

"  At  Helsinborg,  some  fir  trees  of  an  astonishing 
length  were  conducted,  by  wheel-axes,  to  the  water 
side.  A  separate  vehicle  was  employed  for  each 
tree,  being  drawn  by  horses  which  were  driven  by 
women.  These  long,  white,  and  taper  shafts  of  deal 
timber,  divested  of  their  bark,  afforded  the  first 
specimens  of  the  produce  of  those  boundless  forests 
of  which  we  had  then  formed  no  conception.  That 
the  reader  may  therefore  be  better  prepared  than  we 
were  for  the  tract  of  country  we  are  now  to  survey, 
it  may  be  proper  to  state,  in  the  way  of  anticipation, 
that  if  he  cast  his  eyes  upon  the  map  of  Sweden, 
and  imagine  the  Gulp  of  Bothnia  to  be  surrounded 
by  one  contiguous  unbroken  forest,  as  ancient  as  the 
world,  consisting  principally  of  pine  trees,  with  a 


THE    PINE.  41 

few  mingling  birch  and  juniper  trees,  he  will  have 
a  general  and  tolerably  correct  notion  of  the  real 
appearance  of  the  country.  If  the  sovereigns  of 
Europe  were  to  be  designated  each  by  some  title 
characteristic  of  the  nature  of  their  dominions,  we 
might  call  the  Swedish  monarch  Lord  of  the  Woods, 
because,  in  surveying  his  territories,  he  might  travel 
over  a  great  part  of  his  kingdom,  from  sun-rise  until 
sun-set,  and  find  no  other  subjects  than  the  trees  of 
his  forests.  The  population  is  everywhere  small, 
because  the  whole  country  is  covered  with  wood; 
yet,  in  the  nonsense  that  has  been  written  about  the 
Northern  hive,  whose  swarms  spread  such  conster- 
nation in  the  second  century  before  Christ,  it  has 
been  usual  to  maintain  that  vast  armies  issued  from 
this  land.  The  only  region  with  which  Sweden  can 
properly  be  compared  is  North  America, — a  land  of 
wood  and  iron,  with  very  few  inhabitants,  '  and 
out  of  whose  hills  thou  mayest  dig  brass;'  but,  like 
America,  it  is  also  as  to  society  in  a  state  of  in- 
fancy." 

Except  that  the  mountains  are  of  less  elevation, 
and  that  the  climate  is  more  moist,  the  eastern  side 
of  the  Gulph  of  Bothnia  does  not  differ  much  from 
the  western,  as  described  by  Dr.  Clarke. 

The  coast  of  Norway  is  more  wild  than  that  of 
Sweden,  and  the  temperature  is  warmer  in  the  same 
latitude,  so  that  the  pine  forests  extend  rather  farther 
to  the  north.  Spruce  is  hardly  found  within  the 
Arctic  circle,  but  Scotch  fir  continues  for  nearly  a 
degree  more,  even  at  considerable  heights;  and  be- 
yond that,  straggling  trees  are  to  be  met  with  in 
very  sheltered  places.  The  summit  of  the  mountains 
on  the  north  of  the  Gulph  of  Bothnia  may  be  taken 
as  the  limit  of  the  Scandinavian  pines,  as  from  thence 
to  North  Cape  there  is  nothing  to  be  met  with  but 

dwarf  birch. 

/• 

VOL.    II.  4* 


42  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

The  principal  rivers  by  which  the  pines*  of  the 
Scandinavian  mountains  are  brought  to  the  sea, 
westward,  for  the  purposes  of  commerce,  are  the 
Gotha  in  Sweden,  and  the  Glomm  in  Norway. 

The  Gotha  issues  from  the  large  lake  of  Wener, 
in  the  centre  of  the  southern  part  of  Sweden;  and  the 
lake  receives  many  streams  from  the  mountains,  some 
of  which  are  of  great  length,  and  pass  through  forests 
of  the  finest  pines.  By  means  of  these  the  pine 
trees  are  easily  conveyed  to  the  lake,  and  thence  by 
the  Gotha  to  Gottenburgh.  In  former  times,  the 
timber  was  allowed  to  noat  down  the  cataract  of 
Trollhaetta,  by  which  many  of  the  trees  were  spoiled, 
as  there  is  a  succession  of  falls,  and  some  of  them  as 
high  as  thirty  feet.  Saw-mills  are  now  erected  at  Troll- 
hsetta,  and  the  timber  is  conveyed  to  the  river  farther 
down,  by  a  canal.  The  timber  of  the  south  of  Norway 
is  brought  by  the  Glomm  to  the  bay  of  Christiana, 
where  a  great  quantity  is  exported.  Dr.  Clarke  thus 
describes  the  process  of  sawing  timber  on  the  banks  of 
the  Dal,  westward  of  the  Gulph  of  Bothnia;  and  we 
believe  it  does  not  vary  much  all  over  Scandinavia: 

"  Between  Meheda  and  Elfskarleby,  about  two 
English  miles  before  we  reached  the  latter  place,  we 
were  gratified  by  a  sight  of  some  cataracts  of  the 
Dal,  which  we  thought  far  superior  to  those  of  Troll- 
h&tta.  The  display  of  colours  in  the  roaring  torrent 
was  exceedingly  fine;  rushing  with  a  headlong  force, 
it  fell  in  many  directions,  and  made  the  ground 
tremble  with  its  impetuosity.  The  height  of  the  fall 
is  not  forty  feet,  but  the  whole  river  being  precipi- 
tated among  dark,  projecting  rocks,  gives  it  a  grand 
effect;  a  swelling  surf  continues  foaming  all  the  way 
to  a  bridge,  where  another  cataract,  meeting  the 
raging  tide,  adds  greatly  to  its  fury.  Such  is  the 
commotion  excited,  that  a  white  mist,  rising  above 
the  fall,  and  over  the  banks  of  the  torrent,  rendered 


THE    PINK.  43 

it   conspicuous  long   before  we  reached  the   river. 
Close  to  the  principal  cataract  stood  a  sawing-mill, 
worked  by  an  overshot  wheel,  so  situate  as   to  be 
kept  in  motion  by  a  stream  of  water  diverted  from  its 
channel  for  this  purpose.     The  remarkable  situation 
of  the  sawing-mills,  by  the  different  cataracts,  both  in 
Sweden  and  Norway,  are  among  the  most  extraordi- 
nary sights  a  traveller  meets  with.     The  mill   here 
was  as  rude  and  as  picturesque  an  object  as  it  is 
possible  to  imagine.     It  was  built  with  the  unplaned 
trunks   of  large  fir  trees,   as  if  brought  down  and 
heaped  together  by  the  force  of  the  river.     The  saws 
are  fixed  in  sets,  parallel  to  each  other;  the  spaces 
between  them  in  each  set  being  adapted  to  the  in- 
tended thickness  for  the  planks.     A  whole  tree  is  thus 
divided  into  planks,  by  a  simultaneous  operation,  in 
the   same  time  that  a  single  plank  would  be  cut  by 
one  of  the  saws.     We  found  that  ten  planks,  each  ten 
feet  in  length,  were  sawed  in  five  minutes,  one  set  of 
saws  working  through  two  feet  of  timber  in  a  single 
minute.     A  ladder,  sloping  from  the  mill  into  the 
midst  of  the  cataract,  rested  there  upon  a  rock,  which 
enabled  us  to  take  a  station  in  the  midst  of  the  roaring 
waters.     On  all  sides  of  the  cataract,  close  to  its  fall, 
and  high  above  it  and  far  below  it,  and  in  the  midst 
of  the  turbulent  flood,  tall  pines  waved  their  shadowy 
branches,  wet  with  the  rising  dews.     Some  of  these 
trees  were  actually  thriving  upon  naked  rocks,  from 
which  the  dashing  foam  of  the  torrent  was  spreading 
in  wide  sheets  of  spray." 

In  some  parts  of  Sweden  there  are  accidental  fires, 
and  the  pines  are  also  sometimes  burned,  in  order  to 
clear  the  soil  for  agriculture.  In  the  account  of  his 
journey  from  Stockholm,  northward,  Dr.  Clarke  says, 
"  As  we  proceeded  to  Hamrange,  we  passed  through 
noble  avenues  of  trees,  and  saw  some  fine  lakes  on 
either  side  of  the  road.  Some  of  the  forests  had  been 


44  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

burned,  by  which  the  land  was  cleared  for  cultivation. 
The  burning  of  a  forest  is  a  very  common  event  in 
this  country;  but  it  is  most  frequent  towards  the 
north  of  the  Gulph  of  Bothnia.  Sometimes  a  consi- 
derable part  of  the  horizon  glares  with  a  fiery  redness, 
owing  to  the  conflagration  of  a  whole  district,  which, 
for  many  leagues  in  extent,  has  been  rendered  a  prey 
to  the  devouring  flames.  The  cause  is  frequently  at- 
tributed to  lightning;  but  it  may  be  otherwise  ex- 
plained; and  we  shall  have  to  notice  some  remarkable 
instances  of  these  fires  in  the  sequel." 

Again,  Dr.  Clarke  mentions  that  in  Lapland,  be- 
yond Tornea,  "  some  forests  were  on  fire  near  the 
river,  and  had  been  burning  for  a  considerable  time. 
Mr.  Tipping  informed  us,  that  these  fires  were  owing 
to  the  carelessness  of  the  Laplanders  and  boatmen 
on  the  rivers,  who,  using  the  Boletus  igniarius  (Ger- 
man tinder)  for  kindling  their  tobacco-pipes,  suffer 
it  to  fall  in  an  ignited  state  among  the  dry  leaves 
and  moss.  They  also  leave  large  fires  burning  in 
the  midst  of  the  woods,  which  they  have  kindled  to 
drive  away  the  mosquitoes  from  their  cattle  and  from 
themselves;  therefore,  the  conflagration  of  a  forest, 
however  extensively  the  flames  may  rage,  is  easily 
explained.  Yet  Linnaeus,  with  all  his  knowledge  of 
the  country  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants,  attributed 
the  burning  of  the  forests  in  the  north  of  Sweden  to 
the  effects  of  lightning.  During  these  tremendous 
fires,  the  bears,  wolves,  and  foxes  are  driven  from 
their  retreats,  and  make  terrible  depredations  among 
the  cattle.  A  bear,  having  crossed  the  river,  about  a 
fortnight  before  we  arrived,  had  killed  in  one  night 
six  cows  and  twelve  sheep,  the  property  of  a  farmer. 
We  saw  their  former  owner,  and  the  place  where  all 
this  slaughter  had  been  committed,  having  landed  to 
walk  by  the  side  of  the  river,  while  our  boatmen  were 
engaged  in  forcing  the  rapids.  The  fanner  attributed 


THE    PINE.  45 

his  loss  to  the  burning  of  the  opposite  forest,  which 
had  compelled  the  bear  to  pass  the  river  for  food." 

On  the  southern  shores  of  the  Baltic  there  are  also 
extensive  pine-forests.  These  are  chiefly  situated  to 
the  east  of  the  Vistula,  on  the  whole  of  the  sandy 
tract  that  lies  between  the  rich  corn  valley  of  that 
river  and  the  flax  and  hemp  valley  of  the  Dwina,  and 
stretches  back  into  the  central  parts  of  Russia.  The 
soil  upon  which  this  forest  grows  is  almost  wholly 
sand,  and  the  surface  is  in  consequence  compara- 
tively level,  nor  does  any  of  it  lie  at  a  great  elevation 
above  the  sea.  The  river  Memel  is  the  principal 
channel  by  which  this  timber  is  conducted  to  the 
sea,  and  Memel  is  the  port  at  which  it  is  chiefly 
disposed  of.  Much  of  the  timber  of  Memel  is  ex- 
ported in  logs  that  are  only  squared  by  the  axe;  and 
masts  and  spars  of  Memel  timber  are  much  esteemed. 
In  the  haafs  or  low-lands  on  those  shores  of  the 
Baltic,  amber  is  found  in  greater  abundance  than  hi 
any  other  part  of  the  world;  and  it  is  considered 
that  this  substance  may  be  the  turpentine  of  decayed 
pines  changed  by  the  length  of  time  it  has  been  buried 
in  the  earth. 

The  northern  slopes  of  the  Alps,  and  the  secondary 
mountains  in  the  south  of  Germany,  abound  in  pines, 
and  the  Rhine  and  Danube  (the  principal  upper 
branches  of  the  latter  rise  in  the  Alps)  are  well 
adapted  for  conveying  the  timber  to  the  lower  dis- 
tricts, where  it  is  valuable.  The  mode  of  conveying 
the  timber  on  the  Rhine  in  immense  rafts  is  very 
curious.  The  following  account  of  these  rafts  is  by 
the  Author  of"  An  Autumn  near  the  Rhine": — 

"  A  little  below  Andernach,  the  little  village  of 
Namedy  appears  on  the  left  bank,  under  a  wooded 
mountain.  The  Rhine  here  forms  a  little  bay,  where 
the  pilots  are  accustomed  to  unite  together  the  small 
rafts  of  timber  floated  down  the  tributary  rivers  into 
the  Rhine,  and  to  construct  enormous  floats,  which 


46  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

are  navigated  to  Dortrecht  (Dort),  and  sold.  These 
machines  have  the  appearance  of  a  floating  village, 
composed  of  twelve  or  fifteen  little  wooden  huts,  on  a 
large  platform  of  oak  and  deal  timber.  They  are  fre- 
quently eight  or  nine  hundred  feet  long,  and  sixty  or 
seventy  in  breadth.  The  rowers  and  workmen  some- 
times amount  to  seven  or  eight  hundred,  superin- 
tended by  pilots,  and  a  proprietor,  whose  habitation 
is  superior  in  size  and  elegance  to  the  rest.  The 
raft  is  composed  of  several  layers  of  trees,  placed 
one  on  the  other,  and  tied  together;  a  large  raft 
draws  not  less  than  six  or  seven  feet  of  water.  Se- 
veral smaller  ones  are  attached  to  it,  by  way  of  pro- 
tection, besides  a  string  of  boats,  loaded  with  an- 
chors and  cables,  and  used  for  the  purpose  of  sound- 
ing the  river,  and  going  on  shore.  The  domestic 
economy  of  an  East  Indiaman  is  hardly  more  com- 
plete. Poultry,  pigs,  and  other  animals,  are  to  be 
found  on  board,  and  several  butchers  are  attached  to 
the  suite.  A  well-supplied  boiler  is  at  work  night 
and  day  in  the  kitchen ;  the  dinner  hour  is  announced 
by  a  basket  stuck  on  a  pole,  at  which  signal  the  pilot 
gives  the  word  of  command,  and  the  workmen  run 
from  all  quarters  to  receive  their  messes.  The  con- 
sumption of  provisions  in  the  voyage  to  Holland  is 
almost  incredible,  sometimes  amounting  to  forty  or 
fifty  thousand  pounds  of  bread,  eighteen  or  twenty 
thousand  of  fresh,  besides  a  quantity  of  salted,  meat, 
and  butter,  vegetables,  &c.,  in  proportion.  The 
expenses  are  so  great,  that  a  capital  of  three  or  four 
hundred  thousand  florins  (about  35,000/.)  is  con- 
sidered necessary  to  undertake  a  raft.  Their  navi- 
gation is  a  matter  of  considerable  skill,  owing  to  the 
abrupt  windings,  the  rocks,  and  shallows  of  the  river; 
and  some  years  ago  the  secret  was  thought  to  be 
monopolized  by  a  boatman  of  Riidesheim  and  his 
son." 

These  rafts  are  not  of  modern  invention,  and  are 


THE    PINE.  47 

not  confined  to  Europe.  Evelyn,  on  the  authority 
of  Le  Compte,  says,  that  the  timber-merchants  of 
China  transport  immense  trees  or  floats,  upon  which 
they  build  huts  and  little  cottages,  where  they  live 
with  their  families. 

The  following  passage  from  Planche's  "  Descent 
of  the  Danube,"  gives  a  description  of  the  method  of 
floating  timber  on  a  branch  of  that  river;  and  the 
practice  appears  to  be  common  in  Germany: — 

"  At  the  mouth  of  the  Erlaf,  is  a  Rechen,  or  Grate, 
where  the  wood  collects  that  is  floated  down  this 
stream  from  the  forests  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Maria-Zell,  in  the  Steyermark,  near  which  it  takes  its 
rise.  It  is  customary  in  Germany  to  place  one  of 
these  gratings  at  the  mouth  of  any  tributary  stream, 
or  in  the  bed  of  any  river  where  a  line  of  demarcation 
is  drawn  naturally  or  artificially  between  two  king- 
doms, two  provinces,  or  even  two  parishes;  so  that 
the  branches  and  trunks  of  trees  blown  down  by  high 
winds,  and  swept  away  by  inundations  into  the  cur- 
rent, should  not  be  carried  beyond  the  frontiers,  or 
boundaries,  of  the  state  or  property  to  which  they 
belong,  and  which  derives  from  them  no  inconsider- 
able portion  of  its  revenue. 

"  The  timber,  also,  regularly  felled  by  the  wood- 
cutters, is  thrown  thus  carelessly  on  the  mountain- 
streams  of  Germany,  and  floats  down  to  the  Rechen 
or  Grate,  where  it  is  afterwards  collected  by  its 
owners,  who  are  thus  saved  the  trouble  and  expense 
of  land  carriage;  and  the  drifting  property  is  "pro- 
ected  from  plunder  by  the  severity  of  the  laws  re- 
lating to  it." 

In  many  parts  even  of  Europe,  the  timber  of  pine 
forests  is  useless  for  purposes  of  commerce,  from  their 
inaccessible  situations,  and  the  consequent  difficulty 
of  transport.  The  rugged  flanks  and  deep  gorges  of 
Mount  Pilatus,  in  Switzerland,  for  instance,  had  been 


48  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

covered  with  impenetrable  forests  for  many  centuries; 
till  an  enterprising  individual  conceived  the  daring  idea 
of  conveying  the  pines  from  the  top  of  the  mountain 
to  the  Lake  of  Lucerne,  a  distance  of  nearly  nine 
miles,  by  means  of  an  inclined  plane,  extending  the 
whole  distance.  This  extraordinary  contrivance,  which 
was  completed  in  1812,  became  an  object  of  wonder 
to  all  Europe,  and  was  called  the  Slide  of  Alpnach, 
from  the  name  of  the  Commune  in  which  it  was  situ- 
ated. The  Slide  was  a  trough,  formed  of  25,000  pine 
trees,  six  feet  broad,  and  from  three  to  six  feet  deep; 
this  was  kept  moist.  Its  length  was  44,000  Eng- 
lish feet.  It  had  to  be  conducted  in  an  undeviating 
line  over  the  summits  of  rocks,  or  along  their 
sides,  or  under-ground,  or  over  deep  gorges,  where 
it  was  sustained  by  scaffoldings;  and  thus  innume- 
rable difficulties  presented  themselves  in  its  construc- 
tion. The  perseverance  of  the  engineer,  M.  Rupp, 
overcame  all  obstacles;  and  in  eighteen  months  his 
work  was  finished.  The  trees  descended  from  the 
mountain  into  the  lake  with  an  incredible  rapidity. 
The  larger  pines,  which  were  about  one  hundred  feet 
long,  ran  through  the  space  of  eight  miles  and  a  third, 
in  about  six  minutes.  A  gentleman,  who  saw  this 
great  work,  informed  us,  that  such  was  the  velocity 
with  which  a  tree  of  the  largest  size  passed  any  given 
point,  that  he  could  only  strike  it  once  with  a  stick  as 
it  rushed  by,  however  quickly  he  attempted  to  repeat 
the  blow.  The  markets  of  the  Baltic  being  opened 
by  the  peace,  the  speculation  was  abandoned  as  un- 
profitable; and  the  Slide  of  Alpnach  fell  into  ruin.* 

The  advantages  derived  from  planting  pines  in 
those  upland  and  heathy  parts  of  the  country,  which 
can  scarcely  be  turned  to  any  other  profitable  pur- 
pose, are  very  many.  They  form  a  shelter  to  the 
little  patches  of  land  that  are  susceptible  of  cultiva- 

*  See  Edinburgh  Philosophical  Journal,  1S20. 


THE    PINE.  49 

tion.  The  thinnings  (for  pines  should  be  planted 
very  close  together  at  first)  are  well  adapted  for  fuel, 
for  palings,  and  many  other  domestic  purposes.  The 
leaves,  as  they  fall  off,  destroy  the  heath  and  other 
hard  plants,  which  are  succeeded  by  mosses  and 
grasses,  the  remains  of  which,  when  ploughed  into 
the  soil,  make  it  susceptible  of  bearing  crops  either 
of  grain  or  of  green  vegetables ;  and  the  timber  at 
last,  after  paying  all  its  expenses  by  the  repeated 
thinnings,  furnishes  a  better  rent  than  could  be  ob- 
tained by  any  other  means.  In  order  to  secure  these 
advantages,  it  is  necessary  that  the  soil  should  be 
properly  chosen ;  for  we  have  seen  instances  in  which, 
during  thirty  years,  the  average  increase  of  the  trees 
in  height  has  hardly  been  an  inch,  while,  in  situa- 
tions not  particularly  unfavourable,  it  might  not  be 
much  less  than  thirty  feet.  It  is  fortunate,  however, 
that  those  places  which  do  not  agree  with  the  com- 
mon pine  are  generally  well  adapted  for  the  larch; 
and  in  the  very  instances  to  which  we  have  alluded, 
a  row  of  larches,  planted  simultaneously  with  the 
pines,  are  now  of  more  feet  in  height  than  the 
pines  are  of  inches.  So  that  if  the  planter  finds  his 
pines  will  not  thrive,  which  he  can  soon  do  by  ob- 
serving the  turpentine  exuding  through  the  leaves 
and  buds,  and  covering  them  like  hoar  frost,  he  ought 
immediately  to  root  them  out  and  replace  them  with 
larches.  In  like  manner,  when  the  larch  exhibits 
this  appearance  on  the  leaves,  and  especially  on  the 
branches,  it  will  never  come  to  maturity.  Care  must 
be  taken,  however,  not  to  mistake  the  pollen  for  this 
disease.  The  pollen  appears  only  when  the  male 
flowers  are  in  bloom;  it  has  a  tinge  of  yellow,  and 
it  seldom  adheres  to  the  leaves,  and  never  to  the 
branches;  whereas  the  turpentine  is  white  and  efflo- 
rescent, adheres  to  the  twigs  and  leaves,  and  cannot 
DC  shaken  off  without  difficulty. 

VOL.    II.  5 


50  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  advantages  resulting  from 
the  cultivation  of  pines,  we  may  mention  a  portion  of 
Culloden  Muir,  near  to  the  spot  where  the  battle  was 
fought,  in  1746.  It  slopes  to  the  north-east,  and  is 
exposed  to  the  cold  blasts  of  the  Moray  Firth.  The 
subsoil  is  a  deep  bed  of  clay-and-sand  gravel ;  and  the 
surface,  where  not  planted,  very  barren,  with  not  more 
than  an  inch  of  mould,  and  that  of  the  very  worst 
quality.  A  portion  was  inclosed  and  planted,  about 
seventy  years  ago,  by  the  celebrated  Lord  President 
Forbes.  The  successive  thinnings  had  more  than 
repaid  the  enclosing  and  planting;  and  when  the 
timber  was  cut  down,  about  twenty  years  since,  it 
yielded  several  times  as  much  rent  per  acre,  for  every 
year  it  had  stood,  as  the  unplanted  part  of  the  muir 
let  for  at  the  time  when  it  was  cut  down. 

Large  plantations  of  pines  have  been  made  in 
England  during  the  last  thirty  years;  and  thus,  some 
of  our  barren  lands,  which  were  formerly  utterly 
worthless,  had  become  valuable  additions  to  the  na- 
tional wealth.  Sometimes  these  plantations  have  been 
formed  without  due  investigation;  and  through  this, 
some  species  of  fir,  which  are  useless  except  for  fuel, 
have  been  raised  in  large  quantities.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  properties  of  the  several  species  have  been 
accurately  studied  by  some  planters ;  and  experiments, 
upon  a  large  scale,  have  been  made  to  determine  the 
relative  value  of  the  various  sorts.  At  Dropmore,  in 
Buckinghamshire,  a  place  which,  thirty  years  ago, 
was  a  most  desolate  and  barren  heath,  Lord  Gren- 
ville  has  formed  the  most  valuable  fir  plantations; 
and  he  has  established  a  garden  of  the  genus  pinus, 
in  which  he  has  collected  almost  every  known  species 
from  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  The  late  Bishop 
Heber,  who  was  honoured  with  the  friendship  of  that 
justly  venerated  nobleman,  had  a  commission  from 
him  to  search  out  any  new  species  of  the  pines  of 


THE    PINE.  51 

India;  and  the  following  extract  of  a  letter  from  this 
amiable  prelate,  addressed  to  his  Lordship,  giving  an 
account  of  the  pines  of  the  Himalaya  mountains, 
will  show  the  solicitude  with  which  he  discharged  his 
trust : — 

"  A  visit  which  I  paid  to  those  glorious  mountains, 
in  November  and  December  last,  was  unfortunately 
too  much  limited  by  the  short  time  at  my  disposal, 
and  by  the  advanced  season,  to  admit  of  my  pene- 
trating far  into  their  recesses;  nor  am  I  so  fortunate 
as  to  be  able  to  examine  their  productions  with  the 
eye  of  a  botanist.  But,  though  the  woods  are  very 
noble,  and  the  general  scenery  possesses  a  degree  of 
magnificence  such  as  I  had  never  before  either  seen 
or  (I  may  say)  imagined,  the  species  of  pine  which  I 
was  able  to  distinguish  were  not  numerous.  The 
most  common  is  a  tall  and  stately,  but  brittle,  fir,  in 
its  general  character  not  unlike  the  Scottish,  but  with 
a  more  branching  head,  which,  in  some  degree,  re- 
sembles that  of  the  Italian  pine.  Another,  and  of 
less  frequent  occurrence,  is  a  splendid  tree,  with 
gigantic  arms  and  dark  narrow  leaves,  which  is  ac- 
counted sacred,  and  chiefly  seen  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  ancient  Hindqo  temples,  and  which  struck  my 
unscientific  eye  as  very  nearly  resembling  the  cedar  of 
Lebanon.  But  these  I  found  flourishing  at  near 
nine  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and 
where  the  frost  was  as  severe  at  night  as  is  usually 
met  with  at  the  same  season  in  England.  But  be- 
tween this,  which  was  the  greatest  height  that  I 
climbed,  and  the  limit  of  perpetual  snow,  there  is 
doubtless  ample  space  for  many  other  species  of 
plants,  to  some  of  which  a  Dropmore  winter  must  be 
a  season  of  vernal  mildness." 

The  pines  of  the  Himalaya  mountains  were  found 
at  the  height  of  nine  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea.  The  elevation  at  which  the  pine  grows  in 


52  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

tropical  countries  is  very  remarkable.  Humboldt 
describes  the  third  zone  of  the  Peak  of  Teneriffe,  the 
region  of  firs,  as  at  nine  hundred  toises  of  absolute 
height  (about  five  thousand  seven  hundred  and  sixty 
feet) ;  and  he  says  that,  in  the  Cordilleras  of  New 
Spain,  under  the  torrid  zone,  the  Mexican  pines  reach 
as  high  as  two  thousand  toises  (about  twelve  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  feet). 

The  SILVER  FIR  (Pinus  picea],  so  called  from  two 
lines  of  white  on  the  under  side  of  the  leaves,  is  a 
majestic  tree,  and  grows  with  great  rapidity.  It  is  a 
native  of  the  south  of  Europe  and  the  Levant,  the 
silver  firs  upon  mount  Olympus  being  the  most 
magnificent  trees  in  that  country.  Requiring  a  richer 
soil  and  a  warmer  climate  than  the  pine  and  the  larch, 
it  cannot  be  so  well  cultivated  in  bleak  situations  as 
those  species.  The  timber  which  it  produces  is  softer 
and  less  durable  than  that  of  either  of  them;  and, 
therefore,  it  is  not  so  well  adapted  for  general  pur- 
poses: but  its  lightness  renders  it  a  very  fit  material 
for  boats,  and  planks  made  of  it  are  said  to  have  the 
property  of  not  shrinking.  It  has  been  introduced 
into  this  country  as  an  ornamental  tree,  for  more 
than  a  century  ;  but  it  has  not  been  hitherto,  and  pro- 
bably never  will  be,  extensively  cultivated  for  profit. 
Nearly  allied  to  the  Silver  Fir,  though  inferior  to  it  as  a 

f  rower,  is  the  Balm  of  Grilead  Fir  (Pinus  balsamea}. 
t  is  a  native  of  America  ;  but  although  it  has  been 
in  this  country  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half, 
the  only  place  where  it  has  grown,  even  to  moderate 
dimensions,  is  Woburn  Abbey, 


CHAPTER  III. 
THE     PINE. 


Larch — Pinus  Jarix. 

THE  more  modern  botanists  divide  the  Pine  family 
into  three  genera, — Pinus,  Jlbies,  and  Cedrus,  to  the 
last  of  which  the  larch  belongs. 

The  LARCH  (Pinus  larix]  is,  after  the  common  pine, 
probably  the  most  valuable  of  the  tribe.  Though  a 
native  of  the  mountains  of  more  southern  regions,  it 
thrives  uncommonly  well  in  Britain;  and  as  it  grows 
more  rapidly,  and  also  in  more  varied  soils  than  the 
other,  it  is,  perhaps,  better  adapted  for  general  culti- 
vation. In  the  south,  it  attains  an  immense  height; 
some  single  beams  of  larch,  employed  in  the  palaces 


VOL.    II. 


5* 


54  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

and  public  buildings  of  Venice  being  said  to  be  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  long.  Even  in  the  planta- 
tions of  the  Duke  of  Athol,  and  other  proprietors  in 
Perthshire,  some  larches  are  at  least  one  hundred  feet 
high.  The  wild  alternation  of  hill  and  valley  in  that 
county,  with  the  general  opening  of  the  glens  and 
exposure  of  the  surface  to  the  south,  seem  to  afford 
the  larch  a  situation  something  like  its  native  locality 
in  the  Tyrolese  and  Dalmatian  Alps:  for  though 
other  trees,  and  some  of  them  fast  growing  ones, 
such  as  the  spruce,  have  been  planted  at  the  same 
time,  the  larch  overtops  them  all;  and  in  summer, 
when  it  is  in  the  full  luxuriance  of  its  leaves, 
(which  are  a  bright  clover  green,)  it  rises  over  the 
dark  forest  like  an  obelisk  of  beryl.  The  larch  sheds 
its  leaves,  and  is  probably  by  that  means  saved  from 
those  keen  blasts  of  the  very  early  spring  that  prove 
destructive  to  pines.  Even  when  naked  it  is  an  orna- 
mental tree.  The  trunk  is  generally  straight,  taper- 
ing gradually  to  a  point;  the  branches,  which  are 
rather  small  in  proportion  to  the  tree,  taper  up  in  the 
form  of  a  perfect  cone ;  and  the  whole  is  of  a  lively 
brown,  streaked  with  a  golden  colour. 

A  few  larches  are  said  to  have  been  introduced 
into  this  country  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  as  rarities;  but  it  only  began  to  be  cultivated 
as  a  forest-tree  about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth 
century.  Since  that  time  it  has  been  extensively 
planted,  more  especially  in  Scotland;  and  the  success 
has  been  far  greater,  and  far  more  uniform,  than  in 
the  case  of  any  other  tree,  not  a  native  of  the  country. 
It  appears  that  the  quality  of  larch  timber  does  not 
depend  so  much  upon  the  maturity  of  the  tree,  and 
the  slowness  of  its  growth,  as  that  of  the  pine, — as 
a  fishing  boat,  built  of  larch  only  forty  years  old, 
has  been  found  to  last  three  times  as  long  as  one  ot 
the  best  Norway  pine.  It  is  not  so  buoyant,  how 


THE    LARCH.  £5 

ever,  nor  so  elastic;  and  as  it  does  not  dry  so  com- 
pletely as  pine,  boards  of  it  are  more  apt  to  warp. 
It  is,  however,  much  more  tough  and  compact;  and, 
what  are  very  valuable  properties,  it  approaches  nearly 
to  being  proof,  not  only  against  water,  but  against  fire. 
If  the  external  timbers,  and  the  principal  beams  of 
houses,  were  made  of  larch,  fires  would  not  only  be 
less  frequent,  but  they  would  be  far  less  destructive; 
for,  before  a  larch  beam  be  even  completely  charred 
on  the  surface,  a  beam  of  pine,  or  of  dry  oak,  will  be 
in  a  blaze  beyond  the  ordinary  means  of  extinguish- 
ment. Larch,  however,  is  heavier  to  transport  and 
elevate,  and  also  much  harder  to  work,  than  pine; 
and  as  these  circumstances  are  all  against  the  profits 
of  the  builder,  they  probably  prevent  the  introduc- 
tion of  this  most  safe  and  durable  timber.  The 
Venetian  houses  constructed  of  it  show  no  symptoms 
of  decay;  and  the  complete  preservation  of  some  of 
the  finest  paintings  of  the  great  masters  of  Italy  is, 
in  some  respects,  owing  to  the  panels  of  larch  on 
which  they  are  executed. 

The  objects  for  which  larch  timber  seems  prefer- 
able to  every  other,  are  chiefly  these : — gates,  palings, 
posts  of  all  kinds  that  are  inserted  either  in  the  earth 
or  in  water,  wooden  buildings,  many  agricultural  im- 
plements, cottage  furniture,  bridges  and  gangways, 
carriages  for  transporting  stones  and  all  hard  and 
rough  materials,  barrows  for  builders  and  road-ma- 
kers, lighters,  fenders,  and  embanking  piles,  lock 
and  dock  gates  for  canals  and  harbours,  coal  and 
lime  waggons,  vessels  for  carrying  lime,  pit-props, 
and  hop-poles  of  the  smaller  thinnings.  For  all 
these  purposes,  and  many  minor  ones,  larch  would 
come  considerably  cheaper  than  any  timber  now  in 
use;  and  would,  in  the  average  of  them,  last  at  least 
thrice  as  long, — the  saving  to  the  public  would  thus 
be  immense ;  and  the  lands  upon  which  an  abundant 


56 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


supply  might  be  raised  in  every  county,  are  at  pre- 
sent lying  idle. 


Spruce — Pinta  abies- 

The  NORWAY  SPRUCE  FIR  (Pinus  abies")  is  probably 
the  loftiest  of  the  pine  tribe  in  Europe.  Though  it 
has  not  reached  so  great  an  elevation  in  this  country, 
it  has  been  found  in  Nonvay,  from  one  hundred  and 
fifty  to  two  hundred  feet  in  height.  The  history  of 
it  in  Britain  reaches  back  for  at  least  a  hundred  years  ; 
and  as  it  grows  very  rapidly,  forms  excellent  shelter, 
has  a  majestic  appearance,  and  is  always  in  leaf,  it 
has  been  introduced  more  generally  perhaps  than 
the  quality  of  the  timber  deserves.  The  timber  is 
white,  soft,  and  far  from  durable.  The  American 
spruces  are,  the  Hemlock  Spruce,  the  white,  the 
black,  and  the  red, — the  colours  of  the  latter  re- 
ferring to  the  bark,  and  not  to  the  timber,  that 
being  of  the  same  white  colour  in  them  all.  The 
spruce  which  grows  in  this  country  is  seldom  used 
but  for  the  coarsest  purposes,  in  consequence  of  its 


THE    NORWAY    SPRUCE    FIR.  57 

inferior  qualities,  and  its  knotty  appearance  from  its 
large  branches.  As  pillars  for  rustic  cottages  and 
porticoes — with  the  knobs  of  the  branches  left,  and 
the  bark  on,  or  barked  and  painted  green, — the  small 
trunks,  or  large  branches  of  the  spruce,  are  very  orna- 
mental. Rough  ladders  are  also  sometimes  made 
of  it,  but  their  strength  is  by  no  means  equal  to  their 
weight. 

The  lofty  and  perfectly  straight  firs  of  Norway 
have  long  been  celebrated  throughout  Europe,  as 
furnishing  masts  for  the  largest  ships.  Milton,  in 
his  splendid  description  of  Satan,  in  the  First  Book 
of  Paradise  Lost,  alludes  to  this  peculiar  excellence: 

"His  spear,  to  equal  which  the  tallest  pine 
Hewn  on  Norwegian  hill?,  to  be  the  mast 
Of  some  great  ammiral,  were  but  a  wand." 

The  masts  of  our  men  of  war  are  principally 
brought  from  Riga;  but  "  the  White  Pine"  (Pinus 
strobus}  of  North  America  is  exclusively  used  for  the 
masts  of  American  shipping  ;  and  many  fine  trees 
are  exported  to  this  country  for  a  similar  purpose, 
principally  from  the  district  of  Maine.  Before  the 
separation  of  her  North  American  colonies  from 
England,  very  severe  ordinances  were  issued  to  pre- 
vent the  cutting  down  of  those  firs  adapted  for  masts, 
which  were  growing  on  the  Crown  Lands.  These 
ordinances  were  issued  as  early  as  1711. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  Louis  XVI.,  a 
pine  was  extensively  planted  in  France,  Pinus  lari- 
cto,  which  has  the  peculiar  property  of  growing  well 
in  a  chalky  soil.  It  is  a  very  magnificent  tree,  but 
the  timber  is  not  so  strong  as  that  of  the  Pinus  syl- 
vestris.  It  has,  however,  been  used  in  France  for 
ship-building. 

The  CEDAR  OF  LEBANON  (Pinus  cedrus)  would,  if 
the  rapidity  of  its  growth  were  at  all  correspondent 


58 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


Cedar  of  Lebanon— Pinus   cedrus. 

with  its  other  qualities,  be  the  most  valuable  tree  in 
the  forest.  Its  resistance  to  absolute  wear  is  not 
indeed  equal  to  that  of  the  oak;  but  it  is  so  bitter, 
that  no  insect  whatever  will  touch  it,  and  it  seems  to 
be  proof  against  Time  himself.  We  are  told  that  the 
timber  in  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Utica  was  found 
undecayed  after  the  lapse  of  two  thousand  years;  and 
that  a  beam  hi  the  oratory  of  Diana,  at  Saguntum*  in 
Spain,  was  fetched  from  Zante,  two  centuries  before 
the  Trojan  war.  Some  of  the  most  celebrated  erec- 
tions of  antiquity  were  constructed  of  this  tree. 
"  Solomon  raised  a  levy  of  thirty  thousand  men  out 
of  all  Israel  ;  and  he  sent  them  to  Lebanon,  ten 
thousand  a  month,  by  courses  ;  and  he  had  threescore 
and  ten  thousand  that  bore  burthens,  and  fourscore 
thousand  hewers  in  the  mountains.  And  he  covered 
the  temple  with  beams  and  boards  of  cedar.  And  he 
built  chambers  against  it,  which  rested  on  the  house, 
with  timber  of  cedar.  And  the  cedar  of  the  house 

*  Murveirko. 


THE    CEDAR   OF    LEBANON.  69 

within  was  carved  with  knops  and  flowers  :  all  was 
cedar,  there  was  no  stone  seen."  Thus  writes  the 
sacred  historian,  who  mentions  that  the  same  mo- 
narch had  a  palace  of  cedar  in  the  forest  of  Lebanon. 
Ancient  writers  notice  that  the  ships  of  Sesostris, 
the  Egyptian  conqueror,  one  of  them  two  hundred 
and  eighty  cubits  long,  were  formed  of  this  timber; 
as  was  also  the  gigantic  statue  of  Diana  in  the  temple 
at  Ephesus.  Some  difficulty,  no  doubt,  exists,  with 
regard  to  the  ancient  history  of  this  celebrated  tree, 
— there  being  other  trees,  still  named  cedars,  which, 
though  somewhat  resembling  them,  do  not  belong  to 
the  pine  family  at  all;  as  the  white  cedar,  which  is  a 
cypress;  and  the  red,  which  is  a  juniper. 

In  addition  to  the  durability  of  its  timber,  the  cedar 
is,  in  its  appearance,  the  most  majestic  of  trees;  and 
when  it  stands  alone  in  a  situation  worthy  of  it,  it  is 
hardly  possible  to  conceive  a  finer  vegetable  orna- 
ment. Its  height  in  this  country  has  seldom  equalled 
the  taller  of  the  larches,  though  it  has  nearly  ap- 
proached to  it;  but  the  very  air  of  the  tree  impresses 
one  with  the  idea  of  its  comparative  immortality. 
There  is  a  firmness  in  the  bark  and  a  stability  in  the 
trunk,  in  the  mode  in  which  that  lays  hold  of  the 
ground,  and  in  the  form  of  the  branches  and  their 
insertion  into  the  trunk,  not  found  in  any  other 
pine,  scarcely  in  any  other  tree.  The  foliage,  too, 
is  superior  to  that  of  any  other  of  the  tribe,  each 
branch  being  perfect  in  its  form:  the  points  of  the 
leaves  spread  upwards  into  beautiful  little  tufts;  and 
the  whole  upper  surface  of  the  branch,  which  droops 
in  a  graceful  curve  toward  the  extremity,  having  the 
semblance  of  velvet.  The  colour  is  also  fine ;  it  is  a 
rich  green,  wanting  the  bluish  tint  of  the  pine  and  fir, 
and  the  lurid  and  gloomy  one  of  the  cypress. 

The  description  of  the  cedar   of  Lebanon  by  the 
prophet  Ezekiel  is  fine  and  true: — "  Behold  the  As- 


60  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

Syrian  was  a  cedar  in  Lebanon,  with  fair  branches, 
and  of  an  high  stature;  and  his  top  was  among  the 
thick  boughs.  His  "boughs  were  multiplied,  and  his 
branches  became  long.  The  fir  trees  were  not  like 
his  boughs,  nor  the  chesnut  trees  like  his  branches; 
nor  any  tree  in  the  garden  of  God  like  unto  him  in 
beauty." 

Whether  the  cedars  of  Lebanon  were  thinned  to 
exhaustion  by  the  fourscore  thousand   axes  of  the 
King  of  Israel,   or  whether  they  have  decayed  in 
consequence  of  some  variation  of  climate,  or  other 
physical  change  in  the  country,   it  is  impossible  to 
say;  but  modern  travellers  represent  that  very  few 
now  exist,  though  some  are  of  immense  bulk — about 
thirty-six  feet  in  circumference,  and  quite  undecayed. 
The  cedar  of  Lebanon,  though  it  has  been  intro- 
duced into  many   parts  of  England  as  an  ornamental 
tree,  and  has  thriven  well,  has  not  yet  been  planted 
in  great  numbers  for  the  sake  of  its  timber.     No 
doubt  it  is  more  difficult  to  rear,   and  requires  a  far 
richer  soil  than  the  pine  and  the  larch;  but  the  prin- 
cipal objection  to  it  has  been  the  supposed  great 
slowness  of  its  growth,  although  that  does  not  appear 
to  be  very  much  greater  than  in  the  oak.     Some 
cedars,    which   have    been    planted   in    a   soil   well 
adapted  to  them,  at  Lord  Carnarvon's,  at  Highclere, 
have  grown  with   extraordinary   rapidity.       Of  the 
cedars  planted  in  the  royal  garden   at   Chelsea,  in 
1683,  two  had,   in  eighty-three   years,   acquired  a 
circumference  of  more  than  twelve  feet,  at  two  feet 
from  the  ground,  while  their  branches  extended  over 
a  circular  space  forty  feet  in  diameter.     Seven-and- 
twenty  years  afterwards  the  trunk  of  the  largest  one 
had  increased  more  than  half  a  foot  in  circumference ; 
which  is  probably  more  than  most  oaks  of  a  similar 
age  would  do  during  an  equal  period.     The  surface 
soil  in  which  the  Chelsea  cedars  throve  so  well  is 


THE    CEDAR   OF    LEBANON. 


61 


not  by  any  means  rich;  but  they  seem  to  have  been 
greatly  nourished  from  a  neighbouring  pond,  upon 
the  filling  up  of  which  they  wasted  away. 


Cedar  of  Lebanon,  in  the  Royal  Garden  at  Chelsea. 

Various  specimens  of  the  cedar  of  Lebanon  are 
mentioned  as  having  attained  a  very  great  size  in 
England.  One  planted  by  Dr.  Uvedale,  in  the  gar- 
den of  the  manor-house  at  Enfield,  about  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century,  had  a  girth  of  fourteen 
feet  in  1789;  eight  feet  of  the  top  of  it  had  been 
blown  down  by  the  great  hurricane  in  1703,  but  still 
it  was  forty  feet  in  height.  At  Whitton,  in  Middle- 
sex, a  remarkable  cedar  was  blown  down  in  1779. 
It  had  attained  the  height  of  seventy  feet;  the 
branches  covered  an  area  one  hundred  feet  in  dia- 
meter; the  trunk  was  sixteen  feet  in  circumference 
at  seven  feet  from  the  ground,  and  twenty-one  feet 
at  the  insertion  of  the  great  branches  twelve  feet  above 
the  surface.  There  were  about  ten  principal  branches 

VOL.  n.  6 


62  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

or  limbs,  and  their  average  circumference  was  twelve 
feet.  About  the  age  and  planter  of  this  immense 
tree  its  historians  are  not  agreed,  some  of  them 
referring  its  origin  to  the  days  of  Elizabeth,  and  even 
alleging  that  it  was  planted  by  her  own  hand. 
Another  cedar,  at  Hillingdon,  near  Uxbridge,  had, 
at  the  presumed  age  of  1 1 6  years,  arrived  at  the  fol- 
lowing dimensions:  its  height  was  fifty-three  feet, 
and  the  spread  of  the  branches  ninety-six  feet  from 
east  to  west,  and  eighty-nine  from  north  to  south. 
The  circumference  of  the  trunk,  close  to  the  ground, 
was  thirteen  feet  and  a  half ;  at  seven  feet  it  was 
twelve  and  a  half;  and  at  thirteen  feet,  just  under 
the  branches,  it  was  fifteen  feet  eight  inches.  There 
were  two  principal  branches,  the  one  twelve  feet  and 
the  other  ten  feet  in  girth.  The  first,  after  a  length  of 
eighteen  inches,  divided  into  two  arms,  one  eight 
feet  and  a  half,  and  the  other  seven  feet  ten.  The 
other  branch,  soon  after  its  insertion,  was  parted  into 
two,  of  five  feet  and  a  half  each. 

Michaux,  in  his  splendid  work  on  the  Forest-trees 
of  North  America,  has  described  fourteen  species  of 
pine, which  are  found  in  the  extensive  woods  of  that  vast 
country.  The  most  valuable  of  these  are,  the  "  Long- 
leaved  Pine"  (Pinus  Jlustralis},  from  which  the  tur- 
pentine and  tar  of  America  are  principally  produced; 
the  "  White  Pine,"  much  used  in  ship-building; 
the  "  Hemlock  Spruce"  (Mies  Canadensis),  the 
timber  of  which  is  not  good,  but  which  affords  bark 
nearly  as  excellent  for  tanning  as  that  of  the  oak; 
and  the  "  American  Silver  Fir"  (Mies  balsamifera), 
from  which  is  procured  the  resinous  substance  known 
as  Canada  balsam. 

The  principal  exportation  of  deals  from  America, 
not  only  to  Europe,  but  to  the  West  India  colonies, 
is  of  the  timber  of  the  white  pine.  Extensive  as  are 


AMERICAN    PINES.  63 

the  woods  of  the  United  States,  this  species  of  tim- 
ber has  been  almost  entirely  consumed  in  the  thickly- 
peopled  districts;  so  that  those  who  are  engaged  in 
the  business  of  cutting  down  the  trees  have  to  pass 
the  greater  part  of  their  time  in  remote  forests,  where 
the  white  pine  is  still  found.  United  in  small  bands, 
they  penetrate  into  the  woods  in  the  depth  of  winter, 
having  previously  in  the  summer  visited  the  same 
places  to  prepare  a  stock  of  hay  for  their  oxen.  They 
build  themselves  huts,  roofed  with  bark;  and  though 
the  ground  is  covered  five  or  six  feet  deep  with  snow, 
and  the  mercury  in  the  thermometer  is  sometimes 
eighteen  or  twenty  degrees  below  the  freezing  point, 
they  apply  themselves  with  the  utmost  courage  and 
perseverance  to  felling  the  trees.  Cutting  them  into 
logs  about  eighteen  teet  long,  they  convey  them,  in 
the  district  of  Maine,  by  means  of  their  oxen,  which 
are  admirably  trained,  to  the  bank  of  the  Kennebeck 
river,  where  they  roll  them  upon  the  ice.  Before  the 
spring,  when  the  frost  breaks  up,  many  thousands  of 
these  logs  are  thus  collected.  They  are  then  carried 
down  the  current  to  Wenslow,  about  one  hundred 
miles  from  the  sea,  at  which  place,  the  logs  being 
previously  marked,  the  owners  are  enabled  to  select 
the  produce  of  their  respective  labours.  The  timber 
is  here  sold  to  the  proprietors  of  numerous  saw-mills 
established  on  the  Kennebeck,  between  Wenslow  and 
the  coast;  and  from  this  point  comes  most  of  the 
American  white  deal  which  we  use  in  England.* 

A  great  quantity  of  fir  timber  is  brought  to  Great 
Britain  from  our  North  American  colony  of  New 
Brunswick.  The  timber  trade  with  this  thriving 
colony  has  been  somewhat  forced,  and  is  now  very 
dull.  In  1824,  the  exports  of  timber  from  New 
Brunswick  to  England,  and  the  ships  built  at  St. 
John's,  amounted  in  value  to  more  than  half  a  mil- 
*  See  Michaux,  vol.  i.,  Art.  Pinus  strobus. 


64  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

lion  sterling.  The  mode  of  cutting  the  fir  in  the 
remote  woods  of  New  Brunswick  is  very  curious, 
and  is  well  described  in  a  little  work,  entitled, 
"  Sketches  of  the  Maritime  Colonies  of  British  Ame- 
rica," by  J.  M'Gregor,  published  in  1828. 

"  The  timber  trade,  which,  in  a  commercial  as  well 
as  political  point  of  view,  is  of  more  importance  in 
employing  our  ships  and  seamen,  than  it  is  generally 
considered  to  be,  employs  also  a  vast  number  of 
people  in  the  British  colonies,  whose  manner  of  liv- 
ing, owing  to  the  nature  of  the  business  they  follow, 
is  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  other  inhabitants 
of  North  America. 

"  Several  of  these  people  form  what  is  termed  a 
'  lumbering  party,'  composed  of  persons  who  are  all 
either  hired  by  a  master  lumberer,  who  pays  them 
wages,  and  finds  them  in  provisions,  or  of  individuals 
who  enter  into  an  understanding  with  each  other,  to 
have  a  joint  interest  in  the  proceeds  of  their  labour. 
The  necessary  supplies  of  provisions,  clothing,  &c., 
are  generally  obtained  from  the  merchants  on  credit, 
in  consideration  of  receiving  the  timber  which  the 
lumberers  are  to  bring  down  the  rivers  the  following 
summer.     The  stock  deemed  requisite  for  a  '  lum- 
bering party"1  consists  of  axes,  a  cross  cut  saw,  cook- 
ing utensils,  a  cask  of  rum,  tobacco  and  pipes,  a  suffi- 
cient quantity  of  biscuit,  pork,  beef,  and  fish;  peas 
and  pearl  barley  for  soup,  with  a  cask  of  molasses  to 
sweeten  a  decoction  usually  made  of  shrubs,  or  of  the 
tops  of  the  hemlock  tree,  and  taken  as  tea.     Two  or 
three  yokes  of  oxen,  with  sufficient  hay  to  feed  them, 
are  also  required  to  haul  the  timber  out  of  the  woods. 
"  When  thus  prepared,  these  people  proceed  up 
the  rivers,  with  the  provisions,  &c.,  to  the  place  fixed 
on  for  their  winter  establishment;  which  is  selected 
as  near  a  stream  of  water,  and  in  the  midst  of  as 
much  pine  timber,  as  possible.     They  commence  by 


AMERICAN    PINES.  65 

clearing  away  a  few  of  the  surrounding  trees,  and 
building  a  camp  of  round  logs,  the  walls  of  which 
are  seldom  more  than  four  or  five  feet  high;  the 
roof  is  covered  with  birch  bark  or  boards.  A  pit  is 
dug  under  the  camp  to  preserve  any  thing  liable  to 
injury  from  the  frost.  The  fire  is  either  in  the  mid- 
dle or  at  one  end:  the  smoke  goes  out  through  the 
roof;  hay,  straw,  or  fir  branches  are  spread  across 
or  along  the  whole  length  of  this  habitation,  on  which 
they  all  lie  down  together  at  night  to  sleep,  with 
their  feet  next  the  fire.  When  the  fire  gets  low,  he 
who  first  awakes,  or  feels  cold,  springs  up  and  throws 
on  five  or  six  billets  ;  and  in  this  way,  they  manage 
to  have  a  large  fire  all  night.  One  person  is  hired 
as  cook,  whose  duty  it  is  to  have  breakfast  ready  be- 
fore daylight;  at  which  time  all  the  party  rise,  when 
each  takes  his  '  morning^  or  the  indispensable  dram 
of  raw  rum  immediately  before  breakfast.  This  meal 
consists  of  bread,  or  occasionally  potatoes,  with  boiled 
beef,  pork,  or  fish,  and  tea  sweetened  with  molasses; 
dinner  is  usually  the  same,  with  pease-soup  in  place 
of  tea;  and  the  supper  resembles  breakfast.  These 
men  are  enormous  eaters,  and  they  also  drink  great 
quantities  of  rum,  which  they  scarcely  ever  dilute. 
Immediately  atter  breakfast,  they  divide  into  three 
gangs:  one  of  which  cuts  down  the  trees,  another 
hews  them,  and  the  third  is  employed  with  the  oxen 
in  hauling .  the  timber,  either  to  one  general  road 
leading  to  the  banks  of  the  nearest  stream,  or  at 
once  to  the  stream  itself;  fallen  trees  and  other  im- 
pediments in  the  way  of  the  oxen  are  cut  away  with 
an  axe. 

"  The  whole  winter  is  thus  spent  in  unremitting 
labour:  the  snow  covers  the  ground  from  two  to 
three  feet  from  the  setting  in  of  winter  until  April; 
and  in  the  middle  of  fir  forests,  often  till  the  middle 
of  May.  When  the  snow  begins  to  dissolve  in 

VOL.  n.  6* 


66  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

April,  the  rivers  swell,  or,  according  to  the  lumberer's 
phrase,  the  '•freshets  come  down.'1  At  this  time  all 
the  timber  cut  during  winter  is  thrown  into  the 
water,  and  floated  down  until  the  river  becomes  suf- 
ficiently wide  to  make  the  whole  into  one  or  more 
rafts.  The  water  at  this  period  is  exceedingly  cold; 
yet  for  weeks  the  lumberers  are  in  it  from  morning 
till  night,  and  it  is  seldom  less  than  a  month  and  a 
half,  from  the  time  that  floating  the  timber  down  the 
streams  commences,  until  the  rafts  are  delivered  to 
the  merchants.  No  course  of  life  can  undermine 
the  constitution  more  than  that  of  a  lumberer  and 
raftsman.  The  winter  snow  and  frost,  although 
severe,  are  nothing  to  endure  in  comparison  to  the 
extreme  coldness  of  the  snow  water  of  the  freshets  ; 
in  which  the  lumberer  is,  day  after  day,  wet  up  to 
the  middle  and  often  immersed  from  head  to  foot. 
The  very  vitals  are  thus  chilled  and  sapped;  and  the 
intense  heat  of  the  summer  sun,  a  transition  which 
almost  immediately  follows,  must  further  weaken 
and  reduce  the  whole  frame.  To  stimulate  the  or- 
gans, in  order  to  sustain  the  cold,  these  men  swallow 
immoderate  quantities  of  ardent  spirits,  and  habits 
of  drunkenness  are  the  usual  consequence.  Their 
moral  character,  with  few  exceptions,  is  dishonest 
and  worthless.  I  believe  there  are  few  people  in  the 
world  on  whose  promises  less  faith  can  be  placed 
than  on  those  of  a  lumberer.  In  Canada,  where 
they  are  longer  bringing  down  their  rafts,  and  have 
more  idle  time,  their  character,  if  possible,  is  of  a 
still  more  shuffling  and  rascally  description.  Pre- 
mature old  age,  and  shortness  of  days,  form  the  in- 
evitable fate  of  a  lumberer.  Should  he  even  save  a 
little  money,  which  is  very  seldom  the  case,  and  be 
enabled  for  the  last  few  years  of  life  to  exist  without 
incessant  labour,  he  becomes  the  victim  of  rheuma- 
tisms and  all  the  miseries  of  a  broken  constitution. 


AMERICAN    PINES. 

But,  notwithstanding  all  the  toils  of  such  a  pursuit, 
those  who  once  adopt  the  life  of  a  lumberer  seem 
fond  of  it.  They  are  in  a  great  measure  as  inde- 
pendent, in  their  own  way,  as  the  Indians.  In  New 
Brunswick,  and  particularly  in  Canada,  the  epithet 
'  lumberer'  is  considered  synonimous  with  a  charac- 
ter of  spendthrift,  and  villainous  and  vagabond  prin- 
ciples. After  selling  and  delivering  up  their  rafts, 
they  pass  some  weeks  in  idle  indulgence;  drinking, 
smoking  and  dashing  off,  in  a  long  coat,  flashy 
waistcoat  and  trowsers,  Wellington  or  Hessian  boots, 
a  handkerchief  of  many  colours  round  the  neck,  a 
watch  with  a  long  tinsel  chain  and  numberless  brass 
seals,  and  an  umbrella.  Before  winter  they  return 
again  to  the  woods,  and  resume  the  pursuits  of  the 
preceding  year.  Some  exceptions,  however,  I  have 
known  to  this  generally  true  character  of  lumberers. 
Many  young  men  of  steady  habits,  who  went  from 
Prince  Edward's  Island,  and  other  places,  to  Mira- 
michi,  for  the  express  purpose  of  making  money, 
have  joined  the  lumbering  parties  for  two  or  three 
years,  and,  after  saving  their  earnings,  returned  and 
purchased  lands,  &c.,  on  which  they  now  live  very 
comfortably." 

The  '  lumberers'  of  New  Brunswick,  and  those 
who  cut  down  the  timber  of  the  woods  of  the  United 
States,  select  the  firs  of  proper  girth  and  quality  with 
especial  care.  It  is  stated  by  Mr.  McGregor,  that 
not  one  tree  in  ten  thousand  is  fit  for  purposes  of 
commerce.  These  thinnings,  therefore,  of  the  woods 
of  North  America  do  not  produce  the  destruction 
of  timber  which  now  forms  a  subject  of  complaint  in 
that  country  of  forest-trees.  The  indiscriminate 
clearings  of  the  agricultural  settlers,  and  the  con- 
flagrations which  occasionally  take  place,  are  the 
causes  which,  in  a  few  centuries,  may  render  North 
America  no  longer  an  exporting  country  for  timber. 


68  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

Sometimes  the  forests  are  injudiciously  set  on  fire  by 
the  settlers,  to  save  the  labour  of  cutting  and  par- 
tially burning  ;  but  by  such  indiscriminate  confla- 
gration, the  land  is  not  properly  cleared,  and  a  very 
strong  and  noxious  plant,  called  the  fire-weed,  in- 
stantly springs  up,  exhausting  all  the  fertility  of  the 
ground.  Sometimes  these  conflagrations  extend 
over  the  whole  face  of  a  country,  producing  the  most 
fearful  destruction  of  life  and  property.  The  spectacle 
of  a  burning  forest,  according  to  the  accounts  of 
those  who  have  witnessed  it,  is  most  sublime.  The 
flames  leap  from  tree  to  tree,  and  rushing  up  to  their 
tops,  throw  out  immense  volumes  of  fire  from  the 
thick  clouds  of  smoke  that  hang  over  the  burning 
mass,  while  the  falling  trees  come  down  with  the 
most  tremendous  crash.  One  of  the  most  destruc- 
tive of  these  fires  took  place  a  few  years  ago  in  New 
Brunswick.  We  extract  an  account  of  this  calamity 
from  Mr.  M'Gregor's  work: — 

"  In  October  1825,  upwards  of  a  hundred  miles 
of  the  country,  on  the  north  side  of  Miramichi  river, 
became  a  scene  of  the  most  dreadful  conflagration 
that  has  perhaps  ever  occurred  in  the  history  of  the 
world.  In  Europe,  we  can  scarcely  form  a  concep- 
tion of  the  fury  and  rapidity  with  which  the  fires 
rage  through  the  American  forests  during  a  dry  hot 
season;  at  which  time  the  underwood,  decayed  ve- 
getable substances,  fallen  branches,  bark,  and  withered 
trees  are  as  inflammable  as  a  total  absence  of  mois- 
ture can  render  them.  When  these  tremendous  fires 
are  once  in  motion,  or  at  least  when  the  flames  ex- 
tend over  a  few  miles  of  the  forest,  the  surrounding 
air  becomes  highly  rarefied,  and  the  wind  naturally 
increases  to  a  hurricane.  It  appears  that  the  woods 
had  been,  on  both  sides  of  the  north-west  branch, 
partially  on  fire  for  some  time,  but  not  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent,  until  the  7th  of  October,  when  it  came  on 


AMERICAN    PINES.  69 

to  blow  furiously  from  the  north-west,  and  the  inha- 
bitants on  the  banks  of  the  river  were  suddenly 
alarmed  by  a  tremendous  roaring  in  the  woods, 
resembling  the  incessant  rolling  of  thunder;  while, 
at  the  same  time,  the  atmosphere  became  thickly 
darkened  with  smoke.  They  had  scarcely  time  to 
ascertain  the  cause  of  this  phenomenon,  before  all  the 
surrounding  woods  appeared  in  one  vast  blaze,  the 
flames  ascending  more  than  a  hundred  feet  above 
the  tops  of  the  loftiest  trees,  and  the  fire,  like  agulph 
in  flames,  rolling  forward  with  inconceivable  celerity. 
In  less  than  an  hour,  Douglastown  and  Newcastle 
were  enveloped  in  one  vast  blaze,  and  many  of  the 
wretched  inhabitants,  unable  to  escape,  perished  in 
the  midst  of  this  terrible  tire." 

A  Miramichi  paper,  published  on  the  llth  of 
October,  at  the  scene  of  this  fearful  conflagration, 
contains  some  interesting  particulars,  from  which  it 
appears  that  several  hundred  lives  were  lost  in  New- 
castle, Douglastown,  and  Fredericton;  that  nearly 
all  the  '  lumberers'  in  the  woods  perished;  that  in 
many  parts  of  the  country  the  cattle  were  all  de- 
stroyed; and  that  the  loss  of  property  in  the  towns 
was  immense,  as  the  fire  rushed  upon  the  inhabit- 
ants with  such  inconceivable  rapidity,  that  the  pre- 
servation of  their  lives  could  be  their  only  care. 

Two  new  species  of  pine,  of  more  gigantic  dimen- 
sions than  any  that  have  hitherto  been  described  in 
Europe  or  America,  have  been  found  by  Mr.  David 
Douglas,  a  most  enterprising  botanist,  who  was  sent 
out  by  the  Horticultural  Society  of  London  in  1825, 
to  explore  the  west  coast  of  North  America.  He  re- 
turned from  that  country  in  the  autumn  of  1827, 
bringing  with  him  a  rich  addition  to  the  known 
catalogue  of  plants.  These  pines  are: — 

1.  Pinus    Douglasii. — This    pine   grows   to   the 


70  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

height  of  two  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  and  is  up- 
wards of  fifty  feet  in  circumference  at  the  base.  It 
has  a  rough  corky  bark,  from  an  inch  to  twelve  inches 
thick.  The  leaves  resemble  those  of  the  spruce,  and 
the  cones  are  small.  The  timber  is  of  good  quality, 
and  very  heavy.  This  pine  was  found  by  Mr. 
Douglas  on  the  banks  of  the  Columbia,  where  it 
forms  extensive  forests,  extending  from  the  shores 
of  the  Pacific  to  the  Stoney  Mountains. 

2.  Pinus  Lambertiana* . — This  species  of  pine 
was  discovered  in  Northern  California,  where  it  is 
dispersed  over  large  tracts  of  country,  but  does  not 
form  dense  forests  like  most  of  the  other  pines. 
It  is  a  very  majestic  tree;  and  one  specimen  which, 
in  consequence  of  its  having  been  blown  down,  Mr. 
Douglas  was  enabled  to  measure,  was  two  hundred 
and  fifteen  feet  in  length,  fifty-seven  feet  nine  inches 
in  circumference  at  three  feet  from  the  root,  and  seven- 
teen feet  five  inches  at  one  hundred  and  thirty-four 
feet.  It  is  probably  the  largest  single  mass  of  timber 
that  ever  was  measured  by  man,  though  some  of  the 
growing  specimens  of  the  same  pine  were  evidently 
of  greater  elevation.  The  trunk  of  the  Lambertiana 
is  straight,  and  clear  of  branches  for  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  height.  The  bark  is  uncommonly 
smooth,  and  the  whole  tree  has  a  most  graceful 
appearance.  The  cones  resemble  those  of  the  Wey- 
mouth  pine,  but  are  much  larger,  being  on  an  average 
at  least  sixteen  inches  in  length.  The  seeds  are 
eaten  roasted,  or  pounded  into  cakes.  The  tree 
bears  a  considerable  resemblance  to  the  spruces ; 
and,  as  is  the  case  with  them,  its  turpentine  is  of  a 
pure  amber  colour,  and  the  timber  soft,  white,  and 
light.  One  singular  property  of  this  tree  is,  that 

*  The  name  of  this  pine  was  given  to  it  as  a  tribute  to 
Lambert,  the  author  of  a  most  splendid  work  on  the  genus 
Pinvs. 


THE    YEW.  71 

when  the  timber  is  partly  burned,  the  turpentine 
loses  its  peculiar  flavour,  and  acquires  a  sweetish 
taste.  It  is  used  by  the  natives  as  a  substitute  for 
sugar. 

TIMBER    TREES    ALLIED    TO    THE    PINES,    IN    THEIR 
APPEARANCE    OR    THEIR    USES. 

The  principal  of  these  are  the  Yew,  the  Cypress , 
the  Juniper ,  and  the  Jlrbor  mice  ;  these,  like  the 
pines,  all  belong  to  the  natural  order  of  Coniferce,  or 
cone-bearing  trees  ;  and  they  have  the  common  cha- 
racters of  being  mostly  evergreens,  and  the  wood 
being  resinous  or  bitter:  but  there  are  some  distinc- 
tions— the  pine,  the  cypress,  the  juniper,  and  the 
arbor  vitse,  are  inonazcius  or  one-housed — that  is, 
have  the  male  and  female  flower  on  the  same  plant; 
while  the  juniper  and  the  yew  are  dicecius  or  two- 
housed — have  the  male  flowers  on  one  tree  and  the 
females  on  another. 


The  YEW  TREE  (called  Taxus)  is  a  tree  of  no 
little  celebrity,  both  in  the  military  and  the  super- 
stitious history  of  England.  The  common  yew  is  a 
native  of  Europe,  of  North  America,  and  of  the 
Japanese  Isles.  It  used  to  be  very  plentiful  in 
England  and  Ireland,  and  probably  also  in  Scot- 


72  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

land.  Caesar  mentions  it  as  having  been  abun- 
dant, in  Gaul;  and  much  of  it  is  found  in  Ireland, 
imbedded  in  the  earth.  The  trunk  and  branches 
grow  very  straight;  the  bark  is  cast  annually; 
and  the  wood  is  compact,  hard,  and  very  elastic. 
It  is,  therefore,  of  great  use  in  every  branch  of  the 
arts  in  which  firm  and  durable  timber  is  required  ; 
and,  before  the  general  use  of  fire-arms,  it  was 
in  high  request  for  bows:  so  much  of  it  was  re- 
quired for  the  latter  purpose,  that  ships  trading  to 
Venice  were  obliged  to  bring  ten  bow  staves  along 
with  every  butt  of  Malmsey.  The  yew  was  also 
consecrated — a  large  tree,  or  more,  being  in  every 
churchyard;  and  they  were  held  sacred.  In  funeral 
processions  the  branches  were  carried  over  the  dead 
by  mourners,  and  thrown  under  the  coffin  in  the 
grave.  The  following  extract  from  the  ancient  laws 
of  Wales  will  show  the  value  that  was  there  set  upon 
these  trees,  and  also  how  the  consecrated  yew  of  the 
priests  had  risen  in  value  over  the  reputed  sacred 
misletoe  of  the  Druids: — 

'A  consecrated  yew,  its  value  is  a  pound. 
'  A  misletoe  branch,  threescore  pence. 
'  An  oak,  sixscore  pence. 
'Principal  branch  of  an  oak,  thirty  pence. 
'A  yew  tree,  (not  consecrated)  fifteen  pence. 
'A  sweet  apple,  threescore  pence. 
'  A  sour  apple,  thirty  pence. 

'  A  thorn  tree,  seven  pence  halfpenny.     Every  tree  after  that, 
fourpence." 

By  a  statute  made  in  the  5th  year  of  Edward  IV. 
every  Englishman,  and  Irishman,  dwelling  with  Eng- 
lishmen, was  directed  to  have  a  bow  of  his  own  height 
made  of  yew,  wych-hazel,  ash,  or  awburne — that  is, 
laburnum,  which  is  still  styled  "  awburne  saugh,"  or 
awburne  willow,  in  many  parts  of  Scotland.  His 
skill  in  the  use  of  the  long  bow  was  the  proud 


THE    YEW.  73 

distinction  of  the  English  yeoman,  and  it  was  his 
boast  that  none  but  an  Englishman  could  bend 
that  powerful  weapon.  It  seems  that  there  was  a 
peculiar  art  in  the  English  use  of  this  bow;  for  our 
archers  did  not  employ  all  their  muscular  strength  in 
drawing  the  string  with  the  right  hand,  but  thrust 
the  whole  weight  of  the  body  into  the  horns  of  the 
bow  with  the  left.  Chaucer  describes  his  archer  as 
carrying  "  a  mighty  bo  we;"  and  the  "  cloth-yard 
shaft,"  which  was  discharged  from  this  engine,  is 
often  mentioned  by  our  old  poets  and  chroniclers. 
The  command  of  Richard  III.  at  the  battle  which 
was  fatal  to  him,  was  this: 

"  Draw,  archers,  draw  your  arrows  to  the  head." 

The  bowmen  were  the  chief  reliance  of  the  English 
leaders  in  those  bloody  battles  which  attended  our 
unjust  contests  for  the  succession  to  the  crown  of 
France.  Some  of  these  scenes  are  graphically  de- 
scribed by  Froissart. 

In  the  account  of  the  battle  of  Blanchetacque  (the 
passage  of  the  Somme),  just  before  the  battle  of  Crecy, 
Froissart  says:  "  The  Frenchmen  defended  so  well 
the  passage  at  the  issuing  out  of  the  water,  that 
they  (the  English)  had  much  to  do.  The  Genoese 
did  them  great  trouble  with  their  cross-bows.  On 
the  other  side,  the  archers  of  England  shot  so  wholly 
together  that  the  Frenchmen  were  fain  to  give  place 
to  the  Englishmen."* 

At  Crecy — "  There  were  of  the  Genoese  cross- 
bows about  a  fifteen  thousand,  but  they  were  so 
weary  of  going  a  foot  that  day,  a  six  leagues,  armed 
with  their-cross  bows,  that  they  said  to  their  con- 
stables, *  We  be  not  well  ordered  to  fight  this  day,  for 
we  be  not  in  the  case  to  do  any  great  deeds  of  arms; 

*  Lord  Berners'  Froissart  :  Ed.  1812.     Vol.  i.  chap.  127. 
VOL.   II.  7 


74  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

we  have  more  need  of  rest.'  The  words  came  to  the 
Count  d'Alen$on,  who  said,  '  A  man  is  well  at  ease 
to  be  charged  with  such  a  sort  of  rascals,  to  be  faint 
and  fail  now  at  most  need.' ':  A  storm  then  ensues, 
which,  and  its  passing  away,  are  described  in 
Froissart's  own  singular  style.  He  then  continues 
thus : — "  When  the  Genoese  were  assembled  together, 
and  began  to  approach,  they  made  a  great  leap  and 
cry  to  abash  the  Englishmen;  but  they  stood  still, 
and  stirred  not  for  all  that.  Then  the  Genoese  again 
the  second  time  made  another  leap  and  a  fell  cry, 
and  stepped  forward  a  little ;  and  the  Englishmen 
removed  not  one  foot.  Thirdly,  again  they  leapt 
and  cried,  and  went  forth  till  they  came  within  shot. 
Then  they  shot  fiercely  with  their  cross-bows.  Then 
the  English  archers  stept  forth  one  pace,  and  let  fly 
their  arrows  so  wholly,  and  so  thick,  that  it  seemed 
snow.  When  the  Genoese  felt  the  arrows  piercing 
through  heads,  arms,  and  breasts,  many  of  them 
cast  down  their  cross-bows,  and  did  cut  their  strings, 
and  returned  discomfited.  When  the  French  king 
saw  them  fly  away,  he  said,  '  Slay  these  rascals, 
for  they  shall  lett  and  trouble  us  without  reason.' 
Then  ye  should  have  seen  the  men  of  arms  dash  in 
among  them,  and  killed  a  great  number  of  them; 
and  ever  still  the  Englishmen  shot  where  as  they  saw 
thickest  press.  The  sharp  arrows  ran  into  the  men 
of  arms,  and  into  their  horses;  and  many  fell,  horse 
and  men,  in  the  midst  of  the  Genoese;  and  when 
they  were  down,  they  could  not  relieve  again,  the 
press  was  so  thick  that  one  overthrew  another."* 

At  Poitiers — "  Then  the  battle  began  orance  ap- 
and  the  battlesf  of  the  Marshals  of  Fpointed  to 
proached,  and  they  set  forth  that  were  appointed  to 
break  the  array  of  the  archers.  They  entered  a  horse- 

*  Lord  Berners'  Froissart :  Ed.  1812.     Vol.  i.  chap.  ISO. 
i  Corps  de  bataille. 


THE    YEW.  75 

back  into  the  way  where  the  great  hedges  were  on 
both  sides,  set  full  of  archers.  As  soon  as  the  men 
of  arms  entered,  the  archers  began  to  shoot  on  both 
sides,  and  did  slay  and  hurt  horses  and  knights;  so 
that  the  horses,  when  they  felt  the  sharp  arrows, 
they  would  in  no  wise  go  forward,  but  drew  aback, 
and  flang  and  took  on  so  fiercely  that  many  of 
them  fell  on  their  masters,  so  that  for  press  they 
could  not  rise  again,  in  so  much  that  the  Marshals' 
battle  could  never  come  at  the  prince.  ....  True 
to  say,  the  archers  did  their  company  that  day  great 
advantage;  for  they  shot  so  thick  that  the  French- 
man wist  not  on  what  side  to  take  heed."* 

At  the  battle  of  Aljabarota,  in  Portugal,  fought  in 
the  early  part  of  Richard  the  Second's  reign,  between 
the  Kings  of  Portugal  and  Castile,  the  former  aided 
by  John  of  Gaunt,  with  an  English  force,  and  the 
latter  by  volunteers  from  France  and  Beam,  the 
English  archers  distinguished  themselves  greatly: 
indeed  they  chiefly  contributed  to  win  the  battle,  one 
of  the  bloodiest  even  of  that  time,  by  the  total  im- 
possibility of  bringing  the  horses  to  advance,  or  even 
stand  fast  under  the  arrows.  Thus  Froissart  de- 
scribes the  encounter: — 

"  The  same  Saturday  was  a  fair  day,  and  the  sun 
was  turned  towards  even-song.  Then  the  first  battle 
(of  the  Spaniards)  came  before  Aljabarota,  where 
the  King  of  Portugal  and  his  men  were  ready  to 
receive  them.  Of  these  French  Knights  there  were 
a  two  thousand  spears,  as  fresh  and  well  ordered 
men  as  could  be  devised;  and,  as  soon  as  they  saw 
their  enemies,  they  joined  together  like  men  of  war, 
and  approached  in  good  order  till  they  came  within 
a  bow-shot;  and,  at  their  first  coming,  there  was  a 
hard  rencounter,  for  such  as  desired  to  assail,  to  win 
grace  and  praise,  entered  into  the  strait  way,  where 

*  Lord  Berners'  Froissart  :  Ed.  1812.     Vol.  i.  chap.  162. 


76  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

the  Englishmen  by  their  policy  had  fortified  them. 
And,  because  the  entry  was  so  narrow,  there  was 
great  press,  and  great  mischief  to  the  assailants;  for 
such  English  archers  as  were  there  shot  so  wholly 
together  that  their  arrows  pierced  men  and  horses, 
and  when  the  horses  were  full  of  arrows  they  fell 

upon  one  another There  were  many  of  the 

Lords  and  Knights  of  France  and  Beam  taken  and 
slain,  and  all  their  companies  that  were  entered 
within  the  strait ;  their  horses  were  so  hurt  with  the 
archers  that  they  fell  on  their  masters,  and  one  upon 
another.  There  these  Frenchmen  were  in  great 
danger,  for  they  could  not  help  one  another,  for 
they  had  no  room  to  enlarge  themselves  or  to  fight 
at  their  will."* 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  long  after  the  introduc- 
tion of  fire-arms  hi  the  fourteenth  century,  the  bow 
continued  to  be  a  principal  instrument  of  war.  The 
bow  was  used  at  Agincourt  and  at  Flodden. 

The  use  of  the  bow  as  a  weapon  of  war,  or  of  the 
chase,  has  ceased  in  this  country;  but  archery  is  still 
followed  as  an  amusement;  and  though  some  of  the 
foreign  woods  have  more  elasticity,  the  best  bows  of 
native  growth  are  certainly  those  made  of  the  yew-tree. 
The  yew  has  often  attained  a  very  great  size  in 
each  of  the  three  kingdoms,  though  the  specimens 
now  remaining  in  Scotland  and  Ireland  be  but  few. 
In  the  first  of  those  countries,  Queen  Mary's  yew  at 
Crookstone  was  much  celebrated,  though  probably 
more  on  account  of  the  princess  with  whose  history 
it  was  connected,  than  any  peculiarity  in  its  own 
magnitude.  The  trunk  of  a  large  yew,  found  by 

*  Lord  Berners'  Froissart  :  Ed.  1812.  Vol.  ii.  chap.  34.  It 
is  singular  that  Mariana  does  not  notice  the  presence  of  an 
English  or  French  force,  but  states  the  negociation  with  John 
of  Gaunt  to  have  been  subsequent  to  the  battle.  Historia  de 
Espana,  lib.  xviii.  cap.  9. 


THB    YEW.  77 

Pennant  in  the  churchyard  of  Fortingal,  in  Perth- 
shire, though  wasted  to  the  outside  shell,  and  with 
only  a  few  leaves  at  one  point,  is  quoted  by  him  as 
being  fifty-six  feet  and  a  half  in  circumference,  or 
about  eighteen  feet  in  diameter. 

The  yew  tree  at  Mucruss  abbey,  in  Ireland,  has  a 
trunk  about  six  feet  and  a  half  in  circumference,  and 
fourteen  feet  high,  which  terminates  in  a  head  that 
fills  the  area  of  the  cloisters. 

In  England  and  Wales,  some  very  large  speci- 
mens are  mentioned.  According  to  Evelyn,  the 
Crowhurst  yew  was  thirty  feet  in  circumference;  that 
at  Braburne  churchyard,  in  Kent,  was  nearly  twenty 
feet  diameter,  although  it  had  been  dismantled  by 
storms;  and  at  Sutton,  near  Winchester,  there  was, 
as  Evelyn  quaintly  says,  "  such  another  monster." 
At  Hedsor,  in  Buckinghamshire,  there  was  lately,  if 
there  be  not  still,  one  in  health  and  vigour,  full 
twenty-seven  feet  in  diameter.  In  the  woods  of 
Cliefden,  near  Hedsor,  there  are  some  extraordinary 
remains  of  these  trees,  whose  roots,  apparently  of 
vast  age,  twine  about  the  chalk  rocks  in  the  most 
fantastic  shapes. 

Considering  the  immense  size  to  which  the  yew 
grows,  and  the  strength,  durability,  and  even  beauty 
of  its  timber,  one  cannot  help  regretting  that,  when 
those  great  trees  shall  have  yielded,  as  yield  they 
must,  to  the  destructive  power  of  time,  there  should 
not  be  a  succession.  It  is  true  that,  in  consequence  of 
the  great  improvement  of  the  iron  manufacture,  and 
the  cheapness  of  that  article,  it  can  be  applied  to 
many  purposes  for  which  the  great  strength  of  the 
yew  was  well  adapted. 

The  custom  of  clipping  yews  into  fantastic  shapes 
was  much  practised  in  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.  Some  of  our  churchyards  still  have 
their  yew-trees  thus  cut  into  the  pretended  likenesses 

VOL.    II.  7* 


78  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

of  birds  and  beasts.  At  Bedfont,  in  Middlesex,  there 
are  two  celebrated  trees,  whose  branches  are  annually 
shaped  into  something  like  the  form  of  a  peacock, 
with  a  date  shewing  when  this  piece  of  useless  labour 
was  first  performed.  We  think  it  is  1708.  The 
Romans,  as  we  learn  from  Pliny's  letters,  cut  their 
evergreens  into  the  fantastic  shapes  of  birds  and 
beasts.  Lord  Bacon,  with  his  wonted  good  sense, 
protested  against  this  practice,  which  was  the  fashion 
of  his  time.  "  I,  for  my  part,"  he  says  in  his  Essays, 
"  do  not  like  images  cut  out  in  juniper  and  other 
garden  stuff;  they  be  for  children." 


Cypress— Cuprums  sempervircm^ 


Of  the  CYPRESS,  of  which  there  are  twenty-two  spe- 
cies, it  will  be  necessary  to  mention  only  two, — the 
Evergreen  Cypress  (  Cupressus  semperrirens),and  the 
White  Cedar  (Cupressus  thyoides).  Of  the  first, 
there  are  two  varieties,  the  upright  and  the  spread- 
ing,— the  last  growing  to  the  larger  size,  and  being 
consequently  the  more  valuable,  as  a  timber  tree.  It 


THE    CYPRESS.  79 

_  <  &  -Hf* ' 

is  a  native  of  the  south  eastern  countries  of  Europe, 
of  the  Levant,  of  China,  and  of  several  other  parts 
of  Asia.  It  thrives  best  in  a  warm,  sandy,  or  gravelly 
soil;  and  though  it  has  not  been  much  cultivated  in 
England  as  a  timber  tree,  yet  it  seems  well  adapted 
for  many  situations  in  the  southern  parts  of  the  king- 
dom. It  is  true  that,  in  the  early  stages  of  its 
growth,  it  has  been  supposed  to  fall  a  victim  to  the 
keen  frosts  of  our  climate ;  yet  Evelyn  says,  that  he 
had  upwards  of  a  thousand  cypress  trees  in  his  garden, 
and  did  not  lose  more  than  three  or  four  of  them  during 
the  uncommonly  severe  winters  of  1663  and  1665. 

Of  all  timber,  that  of  the  cypress  is  generally 
supposed  to  be  the  most  durable,  superior  even  to 
that  of  the  cedar  itself.  The  doors  of  St.  Peter's 
Church  at  Rome,  which  had  been  formed  of  this 
material  in  the  time  of  Constantine,  shewed  no  sign 
of  decay  when,  after  the  lapse  of  eleven  hundred 
years,  Pope  Eugenius  IV.  took  them  down  to  re- 
place them  by  gates  of  brass.  In  order  to  preserve 
the  remains  of  their  heroes,  the  Athenians  buried 
them  in  coffins  of  cypress;  and  the  chests  or  coffins 
in  which  the  Egyptian  mummies  are  found  are 
usually  of  the  same  material.  Cypress  is  a  hand- 
some timber.  Though  hard,  it  is  elastic;  and,  there- 
fore, would  answer  well  for  musical  instruments. 
For  furniture,  it  would  be  equal  even  to  maho- 
gany; for,  though  not  so  beautiful  in  its  colour,  it  is 
stronger,  resists  the  worm  equally,  and  its  odour  repels 
insects  from  whatever  may  be  contained  in  a  cabinet  or 
chest  made  of  it .  For  building,  there  is  no  timber  supe- 
rior to  the  cypress,  which  lasts  almost  as  long  as  stone 
itself;  accordingly,  where  it  is  found  in  great  abund- 
ance, it  is  very  much  used  for  that  purpose.  The 
cypress  is  reputed  to  live  to  a  great  age;  and,  though 
the  precise  period  has  not  been  ascertained,  the  fact 
of  its  being  planted  over  the  graves  of  the  dead,  and 
carried  in  funeral  processions,  as  an  emblem  of  im- 


80  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


White  Cedar — Cupres sus  thyoides. 

mortality,  is  a  proof  that  its  duration  must  be  very 
considerable. 

The  White  Cedar  is  a  native  of  America,  where  it 
grows  to  a  considerable  size;  but  it  grows  slowly, 
being  eighty  years  old  before  it  is  fit  for  timber,  and 
even  then,  though  it  answers  well  for  hoops,  small 
boats,  roofing,  and  some  other  purposes,  it  does  not 
appear  very  worthy  of  cultivation  as  a  timber  tree. 
But  it  is  hardy,  and  forms  a  good  variety  in  clumps 
of  evergreens. 

Of  the  Juniper,  there  are  twenty-two  species,  of 
which  only  the  Barbadoes  juniper,  Barbadoes  cedar, 
the  Bermuda  cedar,  and  the  Red  cedar,  rise  to  be 
large  trees. 

The  Barbadoes  Cedar  (Juniperus  Barbadensis) 
grows  to  be  a  large  tree,  and  is  used  for  ship-building 
and  other  purposes;  but,  being  a  native  of  the  tro- 
pical regions,  it  cannot  be  cultivated  with  profit  as  a 
forest  tree  in  England.  The  Bermuda  juniper  also 
attains  a  considerable  size;  its  timber  is  more  red 
than  that  of  the  former;  and,  as  it  is  a  native  of 


THE    CEDAR.  81 

colder  regions,  it  thrives  better  in  England.  It  is 
very  abundant  in  the  islands  after  which  it  is  named, 
and  forms  there  one  of  the  most  valuable  timber  trees. 
The  wood  is  close-grained,  and  has  a  strong  odour, 
highly  offensive  to  insects;  it  is,  therefore,  well 
adapted  for  furniture  in  warm  climates. 

The  Red  Cedar  (Juniperus  Virginiana)  is  a 
native  of  North  America,  the  West  India  islands, 
and  Japan.  In  Jamaica,  it  grows  to  a  very  large 
size,  and  forms  one  of  the  best  timber  trees  in  the 
island.  It  is  close  and  firm,  though  easily  split;  the 
internal  wood  is  dark  red,  and  the  odour  of  it  is  very 
strong,  so  that  it  answers  well  for  the  internal  parts  of 
cabinet-work,  as  well  as  for  the  wainscoting  of  rooms. 

The  common  juniper  is  a  shrub  found  in  most  of 
the  cold  parts  of  Europe.  It  seldom  (with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  variety  found  in  Sweden)  deserves  to  be 
called  a  tree ;  but  the  wood  that  it  does  produce  is 
compact  and  fragrant;  and  the  berries,  which, take  two 
years  to  grow,  are  employed  in  the  arts. 

SUBSTANCES,  EXTRACTED  FROM  THE  PINES  AND 
THE  KINDRED  TRIBES,  AND  MADE  USE  OF  IN 
THE  ARTS. 

There  are  very  few  of  this  numerous  order  of  trees 
that,  in  addition  to  their  timber,  do  not  afford  some 
substance  valuable  to  man. 

The  common  pine  yields  turpentine  by  incision 
into  the  living  tree;  and  tar  is  made  by  distilling 
billets  of  the  wood  in  an  oven.  This  tar,  being 
boiled  to  evaporate  the  water,  forms  pitch.  The 
goodness  of  the  timber  determines  the  goodness  of 
the  extract ; — that  of  Norway  being  better  than  that 
of  Scotland  or  of  Canada,  although,  from  the  inferior 
value  of  the  timber  in  the  latter  place,  tar  may  be  pro- 
cured much  cheaper.  It  is  probable  that  tar  and  pitch 
may  be  obtained  from  the  whole  family  of  the  pines, 


82  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

for  they  are  nothing  more  than  the  turpentine  mixed 
with  a  certain  quantity  of  charcoal  and  empyreumatic 
oil  and  acid,  formed  during  the  process  of  distillation. 

The  collection  of  turpentine  forms  an  important 
operation  in  North  America,  and  this  produce  of  the 
pine  is  a  considerable  article  of  commerce.  In  the 
United  States  the  business  is  confided  principally  to 
negroes,  and  each  slave  has  the  charge  of  from 
three  to  four  thousand  trees.  The  process  lasts  all 
the  year,  although  the  incisions  are  not  made  in  the 
trees  till  the  middle  of  March,  and  the  flow  of  the 
turpentine  generally  ceases  about  the  end  of  October. 
The  first  operation  is  that  called  '  boxing;'  which  is  to 
form  a  hole  or  sort  of  cup  at  the  root  of  the  tree, 
holding  about  a  pint  and  a  half.  An  incision  is  then 
made  in  the  trunk;  and  the  liquid  which  flows  into 
the  box  is  turpentine,  called  in  commerce  pure  dip- 
ping. These  boxes  are  emptied  five  or  six  times 
during  the  season;  and  it  is  estimated  that  250 
boxes  will  produce  a  barrel  weighing  320  pounds. 
Scraping,  an  inferior  species  of  turpentine,  is  the  de- 
posite  made  by  the  sap  on  the  bark  of  the  tree,  as  it 
trickles  down  into  the  box.  This  is  collected  in  the 
autumn.  The  British  imports  of  turpentine  amounted, 
in  1827,  to  12,000  tons. 

In  the  United  States  tar  is  manufactured  from  the 
dead  wood  of  the  Pinus  Jlmtralis.  The  tar  of  the 
north  of  Europe  is,  as  we  have  said,  very  superior. 
The  process  of  making  this  important  article  of  com- 
merce, in  Norway,  is  thus  described  by  Dr.  Clark : — 

"  The  inlets  of  the  Gulph  (of  Bothnia)  every 
where  appeared  of  the  grandest  character;  sur- 
rounded by  noble  forests,  whose  tall  trees,  flourish- 
ing luxuriantly,  covered  the  soil  quite  down  to 
the  water's  edge.  From  the  most  southern  parts 
of  Westro-Bothnia,  to  the  northern  extremity  of  the 
gulph,  the  inhabitants  are  occupied  in  the  manufac- 


EXTRACTS    FROM   THE    PINE.  83 

ture  of  tar;  proofs  of  which  are  visible  in  the  whole 
extent  of  the  coast.  The  process  by  which  the  tar  is 
obtained  is  very  simple:  and  as  we  often  witnessed 
it,  we  shall  now  describe  it,  from  a  tar-work  which 
we  halted  to  inspect  upon  the  spot.  The  situation 
most  favourable  for  this  process  is  in  a  forest  near 
to  a  marsh  or  bog;  because  the  roots  of  the  fir, 
from  which  tar  is  principally  extracted,  are  always 
the  most  productive  in  such  places.  A  conical  ca- 
vity is  then  made  in  the  ground  (generally  in  the  side 
of  a  bank  or  sloping  hill) ;  and  the  roots  of  the  fir, 
together  with  logs  or  billets  of  the  same,  being  neatly 
trussed  into  a  stack  of  the  same  conical  shape,  are 
let  into  this  cavity.  The  whole  is  then  covered  with 
turf,  to  prevent  the  volatile  parts  from  being  dissi- 
pated, which,  by  means  of  a  heavy  wooden  mallet, 
and  a  wooden  stamper,  worked  separately  by  two 
men,  is  beaten  down  and  rendered  as  firm  as  pos- 
sible above  the  wood.  The  stack  of  billets  is  then 
kindled,  and  a  slow  combustion  of  the  fir  takes  place, 
without  flame,  as  in  making  charcoal.  During  this 
combustion,  the  tar  exudes;  and  a  cast-iron  pan 
being  at  the  bottom  of  the  funnel,  with  a  spout, 
which  projects  through  the  side  of  the  bank,  barrels 
are  placed  beneath  this  spout,  to  collect  the  fluid  as 
it  comes  away.  As  fast  as  the  barrels  are  filled, 
they  are  bunged  and  ready  for  immediate  exporta- 
tion. From  this  description,  it  will  be  evident  that 
the  mode  of  obtaining  tar  is  by  a  kind  of  distillation 
per  descensum;  the  turpentine,  melted  by  fire,  mix- 
ing with  the  sap  and  juices  of  the  fir,  while  the 
wood  itself,  becoming  charred,  is  converted  into 
charcoal.  The  most  curious  part  of  the  story  is, 
that  this  simple  method  of  extracting  tar  is  precisely 
that  which  is  described  by  Theophrastus  and  Dios- 
corides;  and  there  is  not  the  smallest  difference  be- 
tween a  tar-work  in  the  forests  of  Westro-Bothnia, 
and  those  of  ancient  Greece.  The  Greeks  made  stacks 


84  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

of  pine;  and,  having  covered  them  with  turf,  they 
were  suffered  to  burn  in  the  same  smothered  manner; 
while  the  tar,  melting,  fell  to  the  bottom  of  the  stack, 
and  ran  out  by  a  small  channel  cut  for  the  purpose." 

From  the  larch  is  obtained  what  is  called  Venice 
turpentine  :  it  is  procured  by  incision  into  the  tree ; 
and  from  it  the  transparent  oil  of  turpentine  is  dis- 
tilled. The  larch  yields  a  gum  and  a  manna;  and  a 
species  of  fungus  that  grows  upon  it  in  Siberia  has  a 
rind  which  the  natives  make  use  of  in  dyeing  red; 
while  the  body  of  the  fungus  is  used  as  a  soap.  The 
common,  or  Strasburgh  turpentine  is  obtained  chiefly 
from  the  silver  fir;  Burgundy  pitch  from  the  spruce; 
and  Canada  balsam,  the  purest  of  all  the  pine  tur- 
pentines, from  the  balm  of  Gilead  fir.  Turpentine  of 
highly  aromatic  flavour,  called  in  commerce  Chian 
turpentine,  is  also  derived  from  the  turpentine-tree, 
(Pistacia  terebinthus ,) — a  native  of  Barbary  and  the 
south  of  Europe, — which  is  a  tree  belonging  to  ano- 
ther family,  and  quite  different  in  appearance  from 
the  pines. 

Turpentine,  from  what  species  soever  of  the  pine  it 
is  derived,  can  be  dissolved  in  rectified  spirit  or  pure 
alcohol;  and,  by  distillation,  they  all  give  similar 
oils,  which,  from  their  being  distilled,  (and  not  from 
any  resemblance  to  alcohol,  or  spirits  properly  so 
called,)  are  vulgalarly  termed  spirits  of  turpentine.  If 
the  distillation  be  performed  with  water,  the  product 
is  an  essential  oil,  the  common  spirit  of  turpentine; 
and,  if  the  distillation  be  carried  on  in  a  retort,  without 
water,  the  product  is  more  volatile  and  pungent 
— a  concentrated  oil  as  it  were, — and  is  called  the 
etherial  spirit  of  turpentine.  The  residuum  that  is 
left,  in  both  cases,  is  a  brownish  resinous  mass, 
brittle,  capable  of  being  melted,  highly  inflammable, 
insoluble  in  water,  but  mixing  freely  with  oils:  it  is 
the  common  rosin  of  commerce. 

Beside  producing  these  resins  and  oils,  there  are 


EXTRACTS    FROM    THE    PINE.  85 

some  further  uses  of  parts  of  the  pine  species.     The 
bark  of  the  larch  tree  contains  a  considerable  portion  of 
the    astringent  bitter  called  tannin,  which,  by  being 
mixed   with  the   mucilaginous,  or  gluey  part  of  the 
skins  of  animals,  changes  that   into  a  substance  not 
soluble  in  water;  and  thus  it  is  useful  in  the  opera- 
tion  of  tanning,   or    converting   the    raw   hides   of 
animals   into  leather.     Portions  also  are  edible:  the 
young  shoots  of  the  common  fir,  stripped  of  the  leaves 
when  these  just  begin  to  appear,  are  sought  for  with 
avidity,  in    some    places,    by    the    children   of   the 
peasants,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that,   properly  pre- 
pared, they  would  form   both   an  agreeable   and   a 
wholesome   salad  in   the  spring.     In  young  and  vi- 
gorous trees,  too,  the  liber,  or  part  of  the  bark  near- 
est the  wood,  is  pleasant  in  the  early  part  of  the  year; 
and  the  milky  juice  upon  it,  which  is  the  new  layer 
of  wood  in  an  incipient    state,  is  very    sweet,  and 
without  any  of  the  pungent  bitterness  of  turpentine. 
The  inner  bark   of  the   spruce  has   these   qualities, 
though  in  an  inferior  degree;  but  the  young  shoots 
of  it  are  bitter,  astringent,  and  disagreeable.     The 
inhabitants  of  the  cold  and  uncomfortable  regions  of 
Lapland   contrive   to  convert   the  inner  bark  into  a 
kind  of  bread:  for  this  purpose,  they  dry  it  at  the 
fire  till  it  becomes  brittle;  next  they  grind  it;  then 
they  macerate  it  in  water;  and,  after  this,  they  knead 
it  into    thin    cakes,  which   they  bake    in   the  usual 
manner.     These  cakes  are,  however,   more  insipid 
than  the  recent  bark, — probably  because  the  sugar, 
or  manna,  or  whatever  imparts  to  that  its  agreeable 
sweetness,  may  be  destroyed  by  the  maceration,  in 
addition  to  the  pungent  taste  of  the  turpentine,  to  get 
rid  of  which  is  the  object  of  that  operation.     Ropes 
made  of  this  bark  are  pretty  generally  used  among 
the  fishermen  of  the  north,  and  they  have  consider- 
able strength,  as  well  as  elasticity.     From  the  different 
VOL.  n.  8 


86  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

species  of  the  spruce  an  extract  is  taken,  which  is 
used  in  flavouring  a  very  wholesome  beer. 

No  useful  extract  is,  so  far  as  we  know,  taken 
from  the  yew,  the  cypress,  or  the  arbor  vitae.  The 
first  of  these  is  usually  reckoned  a  poisonous  tree, 
destructive  to  some  animals,  though  not  to  others. 

From  the  junipers  are  derived  very  powerful  ingre- 
dients. The  spirit  (essential  oil)  of  the  common  juni- 
per is  employed  in  medicine;  and  also  in  giving  to 
ardent  spirits  that  peculiar  flavour  which  distinguishes 
the  Geneva,  or  gin  of  Holland.  The  Dutch  are  under- 
stood to  distil  the  juniper  berries  along  with  the  other 
ingredients,  by  which  means  the  more  caustic  particles 
of  the  oil  are  evaporated,  and  the  liquor  rendered  less 
deleterious  ;  while  the  British  distillers  not  only 
use  the  oil  of  juniper  in  its  most  caustic  state,  but 
often  substitute  for  it  the  more  pernicious  oil  of  tur- 
pentine, on  account  of  its  greater  cheapness.  The 
quantity  of  juniper  berries  annually  imported  into 
the  United  Kingdom  is  about  800  tons. 

Old  junipers  exude  a  resin  called  Guin  Sandrach, 
which,  under  the  name  of  pounce,  is  employed  to  pre- 
vent the  ink  from  spreading  upon  parchment  and 
improperly-sized  writing  paper.  A  decoction  of  the 
berries  of  the  common  juniper  yields  a  considerable 
quantity  of  sugar. 

From  one  species,  Lycian  Cedar  (Juniperus  Lycia) 
a  native  of  France,  the  Levant,  and  Siberia,  (a  shrub 
of  considerable  size,)  there  is  obtained  the  resin  called 
Olibanum,  which  was  much  used  by  the  ancients,  and 
is  still  used  by  the  Roman  Catholics  in  their  incense 
offerings.  It  has  a  bitter  taste,  and  a  strong  smell; 
and,  when  it  is  burned,  the  fumes  of  it  diffuse  very 
considerable  fragrance. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CHESNUT,BEECH,ELM,  ASH,  SERVICE. 

CHESNUT  AND  BEECH — (FAGUS). 

THESE  are  both  very  valuable  as  timber  trees,  the 
first  for  the  firmness  and  durability  of  its  timber 
when  exposed  to  the  air;  and  the  second  for  the 
many  purposes  to  which  it  is  applied,  and  its  dura- 
bility in  water. 

The  Chesnut  tree  (Fagus  castanea)  is  generally 
understood  to  be  a  native  of  Asia,  in  many  parts  of 
which  it  is  to  be  found  in  situations  where  it  is  not 
very  likely  to  have  been  planted.  Tradition  says 
that  it  was  brought  from  Asia  Minor,  and  that  it 
soon  spread  all  over  the  warmer  parts  of  Europe. 
At  present,  it  is  very  abundant,  as  a  native  tree,  in 
the  mountainous  parts  of  the  south  of  Europe  ;  and 
it  is  also  found  in  North  America,  from  New  York 
to  Carolina.  The  Castagno  del  cento  cavalli,  or  cries- 
nut  of  the  hundred  horses,  upon  Mount  Etna,  is 
probably  the  largest  tree  in  Europe,  being  more  than 
two  hundred  feet  in  circumference.  Brydone,  a  tra- 
veller who  wrote  about  fifty  years  ago,  has  given  a 
particular  description  of  this  celebrated  tree : — 

"  From  this  place  it  is  not  less  than  five  or  six 
miles  to  the  great  chesnut  trees,  through  forests  grow- 
ing out  of  the  lava,  in  several  places  almost  impas- 
sable. Of  these  trees  there  are  many  of  an  enormous 
size,  but  the  Castagno  dei  cento  cavalli  is  by  much 
the  most  celebrated.  I  have  even  found  it  marked  in 
an  old  map  of  Sicily  j  published  near  an  hundred 
years  ago;  and  in  all  the  maps  of  Etna  and  its  en- 


88 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


virons,  it  makes  a  very  conspicuous  figure.  I  own  I 
was  by  no  means  struck  with  its  appearance,  as  it 
does  not  seem  to  be  one  tree,  but  a  bush  of  five  large 


Chesnut — Fagus  castanea. 


trees  growing  together.  We  complained  to  our  guides 
of  the  imposition;  when  they  unanimously  assured 
us,  that  by  the  universal  tradition,  and  even  testimony 


THE    CHESNUT.  89 

of  the  country,  all  these  were  once  united  in  one 
stem;  that  their  grandfathers  once  remembered  this, 
when  it  was  looked  upon  as  the  glory  of  the  forest, 
and  visited  from  all  quarters;  that  for  many  years 
past,  it  had  been  reduced  to  the  venerable  ruin  we 
beheld.  We  began  to  examine  it  with  more  atten- 
tion, and  found  that  there  is  an  appearance  that  these 
five  trees  were  really  once  united  in  one.  The  open- 
ing in  the  middle  is  at  present  prodigious ;  and  it  does, 
indeed,  require  faith  to  believe  that  so  vast  a  space 
was  once  occupied  by  solid  timber.  But  there  is  no 
appearance  of  bark  on  the  inside  of  any  of  the  stumps, 
nor  on  the  sides  that  are  opposite  to  one  another.  Mr. 
Glover  and  I  measured  it  separately,  and  brought  it 
exactly  to  the  same  size,  viz.  two  hundred  and  four  feet 
round.  If  this  was  once  united  in  one  solid  stem,  it 
must  with  justice,  indeed,  have  been  looked  upon  as 
a  very  wonderful  phenomenon  in  the  vegetable  world, 
and  deservedly  styled  the  glory  of  the  forest.  I  have 
since  been  told  by  the  Canonico  Recupero,  an  ingeni- 
ous ecclesiastic  of  this  place,  that  he  was  at  the  expense 
of  carrying  up  peasants  with  tools  to  dig  round  the 
Castagno  dei  cento  cavalli^  and  he  assures  me,  upon 
his  honour,  that  he  found  all  these  stems  united  below 
ground  in  one  root.  I  alleged  that  so  extraordinary 
an  object  must  have  been  celebrated  by  many  of  their 
writers;  he  told  me  that  it  had,  and  produced  several 
examples." 

In  most  parts  of  Britain  the  chesnut  thrives  well, 
there  being  authenticated  anecdotes  of  many  very  large 
ones,  in  various  parts  of  England  and  Ireland.  Nor 
is  it  confined  to  the  southern  parts  of  the  islands,  for 
there  is  one  in  the  garden  at  Castle  Leod,  in  Ross- 
shire,  which  measures  at  least  fifteen  feet  in  circum- 
ference, and  which,  only  a  few  years  ago,  shewed  no 
signs  of  decay.  Nor  is  it  by  any  means  a  slow-growing 
tree;  for  in  Kensington  Gardens,  and  other  places, 

VOL.     II.  8* 


90  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

where  it  has  been  planted  along  with  elms  and  other 
trees  of  very  inferior  timber,  it  equals  them  both  in 
height  and  diameter.  If  the  symptoms  of  decay  that 
are  apparent  in  some  of  those  trees,  of  which  the  age 
is  known  not  much  to  exceed  a  hundred  years,  are  to 
be  taken  as  evidence  of  the  general  failure  of  the 
tree,  and  not  of  its  being  hi  a  situation  indifferently 
adapted  for  it,  we  should  be  led  to  question  the  great 
antiquity  which  has  been  assigned  to  some  of  the 
chesnut  trees  in  England.  The  lives  of  trees  must, 
however,  like  those  of  animals,  vary  with  the  situa- 
tions in  which  they  are  placed;  and  the  immense 
-  size  of  the  celebrated  chesnuts  must  lead  us  to  assign 
to  them  a  much  longer  duration  than  belongs  to  some 
others  of  the  same  species. 

Though  none  of  the  English  chesnuts  rival  the 
great  one  on  Mount   Etna,   yet   this  country  pos- 
sesses immense  trees.     That  at  Hitchin  Priory,  hi 
Hertfordshire,  had,  in  1789,  a  circumference  of  more 
than  fourteen  yards  at  five  feet  from  the  ground,  and 
though  the  internal  part  was  decayed  and  hollowed 
by  time,  the  external  part  and  the  leaves  were  vigor- 
ous.    Grose  found  one  of  four  chesnuts  in  the  garden 
at  Great  Cranford  Park,  Dorset,  thirty-seven  feet  in 
circumference;  and  though  shattered  and  decayed,  it 
still  bore  good  crops  of  fruit.    In  Gloucestershire,  there 
was  a  chesnut,  in  the  hollow  of  which  was  "  a  pretty 
wainscoted    room,   enlightened    with   windows,    and 
furnished  with  seats;"  and  the  great  chesnut  at  Tort- 
worth,  in  the  same  county,  had  dimensions,  and  a 
reputed   age,  belonging   to   no   other  English  tree. 
In    1720,    it   measured    fifty-one    feet    at    six    feet 
from  the  ground;  but  Lysons,  by  a  later  mensura- 
tion, 1791,  made  it  only  forty-five  feet  three  inches. 
It    bore    fruit    abundantly    in    1788;    and   tradition 
carries   its   origin   back  to   the  days  of  the    Saxon 
Egbert. 


THE    CHESNUT.  91 

The  chesnut  tree  is  very  ornamental  when  grow- 
ing; and  it  makes  excellent  timber  In  extreme  age, 
too,  its  timber  is  not  so  valuable  as  when  of  a  mode- 
rate size.  One  advantage  of  chesnut  is,  that  there 
is  very  little  sap-wood;  and  thus,  in  the  growing 
state,  it  contains  much  more  timber  of  a  durable 
quality  than  an  oak  of  the  same  dimensions. 

In  the  Transactions  of  the  Society  of  Arts  for  1789, 
there  is  an  account  of  the  comparative  durability  of 
oak  and  chesnut,  when  used  for  posts.  Posts  of  ches- 
nut, and  others  of  oak,  had  been  put  down  at  Wel- 
lington, in  Somersetshire,  previous  to  1745.  About 
1763,  when  they  had  to  undergo  repair,  the  oak  posts 
were  found  to  be  unserviceable,  but  the  chesnut  were 
very  little  worn.  Accordingly,  the  oak  ones  were  re- 

? laced  by  new,  and  the  chesnut  allowed  to  remain, 
n  twenty-five  years,  (1788)  the  chesnut  posts  which 
had  stood  about  twice  as  long  as  the  oak,  were  found 
in  much  better  condition  than  tnose.  In  1772,  a 
fence  was  made,  partly  of  oak  posts  and  rails,  and 
partly  of  chesnut.  The  trees  made  use  of  were  of 
the  same  age,  and  they  were  what  may  be  termed 
young  trees.  In  nineteen  years,  the  oak  posts  had 
so  decayed  at  the  surface  as  to  need  to  be,  strength- 
ened by  spurs,  while  the  chesnut  ones  required 
no  such  support.  A  gate-post  of  chesnut,  on  which 
the  gate  had  swung  fifty-two  years,  was  found  quite 
sound  when  taken  up;  and  a  barn,  constructed 
of  chesnut  in  1743,  was  found  sound  in  every  part 
in  1792.  It  should  seem,  therefore,  that  young  ches- 
nut is  superior  to  young  oak,  for  all  manner  of  wood 
work  that  has  to  be  partly  in  the  ground.  We  have 
not  heard  of  any  case  in  which  it  has  been  tried 
against  larch. 

Chesnut  trees  of  full  growth  were  more   abundant 
in  England  than  they  are  now;  the  timber  was  used 


92  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

indiscriminately  with  oak,  in  the  construction  of  houses, 
in  mill-work,  and  in  household  furniture.  Many  plan- 
tations of  it  have  been  formed  since  the  proprietors 
of  land  began  to  turn  their  wastes  to  profit,  in  the 
production  of  trees.  It  makes  also  excellent  under- 
wood, and  is  quick  growing. 

The  fruit  of  the  chesnut  in  England  is  inferior  to 
the  produce  of  the  .trees  of  the  south  of  France,  and 
of  Spain.  In  some  provinces  of  France,  and  in  Cor- 
sica, this  fruit  constitutes  the  principal  food  of  the 
poorer  people.  The  inhabitants  of  Limousin,  a  pro- 
vince of  France  covered  with  chesnut  trees,  have  from 
time  immemorial  prepared  them  in  a  peculiar  manner, 
which  deprives  them  of  all  their  astringent  and  bitter 
properties,  and,  thus  prepared,  they  make  them  into 
bread. 

The  chesnut  is  the  tree  with  which  Salvator  Rosa 
delighted  to  adorn  his  bold  and  rugged  landscapes. 
It  flourished  in  ffte  mountains  of  Calabria,  which 
furnished  the  scenes  of  many  of  this  great  artist's  pic- 
tures. It  grows  not  unlike  the  ash,  except  that  its 
branches  are  more  straggling. 

The  Beech  (Fagus  sylvatica]  is  more  generally 
diffused,  and  more  abundant  in  Britain  than  the 
chesnut.  Like  the  chesnut,  it  thrives  best  in  rich 
soils  and  sheltered  situations;  and,  when  planted  in 
places  that  agree  well  with  it,  it  is  a  beautiful  as 
well  as  a  valuable  tree.  The  close  texture  of  the 
beech  renders  it  a  very  fit  timber  for  machinery,  for 
the  stocks  and  handles  of  tools,  and  for  many  other 
purposes.  It  is  not  proof  against  the  worm,  how- 
ever; and  when  exposed  to  alternate  drought  and 
moisture  it  soon  decays.  Against  a  cross  strain, 
too,  it  is  not  so  strong  as  the  grained  timbers,  and 
that,  with  the  comparative  shortness  of  its  duration, 
makes  it  but  little  used  in  building.  Although  easily 


THE    BEECH. 


93 


Beech — Fagus  sylvatica. 

turned,  it  is  not  well  adapted  for  bowls  and  hollow 
vessels,  as  it  is  apt  to  split  when  suddenly  dried 
after  being  wet. 

It  has  been  doubted  whether  the  beech  be  a 
native  of  Britain.  If  it  be  the  fagus  of  the  Ro- 
mans, this  is  not  probable.  Cfesar,  who  was  an  acute 
observer,  mentions  that  he  did  not  find  it  in  the 
country;  and  as  he  was  in  the  warmest  and  richest 
parts  of  it,  he  was  exactly  in  those  in  which  the 
beech  was  the  most  likely  to  be  found.  It  is  possible, 
however,  that  the  fagus  of  the  Romans,  which  ob- 
viously got  its  name  from  the  edible  quality  of  its 
fruit,  may  have  been  either  the  Italian  oak  or  the 
chesnut ;  or  the  phegos  of  the  Greeks  may  have  been 
the  former,  and  that  of  the  Romans  the  latter. 
Whether  the  beeeh  be  or  be  not  a  native  of  England, 
its  introduction  has  been  prior  to  the  .commence- 
ment of  the  written  or  traditionary  history  of  British 
trees. 

When  sheltered,  the  beech  grows  to  a  great  height, 


94  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

and  as  it  lasts  long  when  kept  constantly  wet,  it  is 
well  adapted  for  the  sills  and  floors  of  locks,  for  the 
keels  of  vessels,  and  for  the  planking  in  the  parts 
constantly  kept  under  water.  The  small  timber  of 
it  makes  excellent  charcoal;  the  mast  or  fruit  is 
eaten  by  hogs;  and  the  poor  in  Silesia  extract 
from  it  an  oil,  which  they  use  as  a  substitute  for 
butter.  The  nut  is  sometimes  burnt,  for  the  purpose 
of  making  an  infusion,  which  somewhat  resembles 
coffee. 

Virgil  chose  the  beech  for  its  shade,  for  no  tree 
forms  so  complete  a  roof.  But  its  bushy  head  is  any 
thing  but  beautiful;  and  its  branches  have  neither  the 
firmness  of  the  oak,  nor  the  elegance  of  the  ash.  The 
hue  of  the  bark  is  of  an  agreeable  olive;  and  its  trunk, 
often  studded  with  bold  knots,  is  generally  pictu- 
resque. Its  autumnal  hues  are  particularly  beautiful. 

ELM. 

Of  this  tree  there  are  about  fifteen  species.  The 
Common  Elm  ( Ulmus  campestris}  is  generally  un- 
derstood to'  be  indigenous  in  the  south  part  of  the 
island;  and,  at  any  rate,  it  must  have  been  in  Eng- 
land in  the  time  of  the  Saxons,  as  many  compound 
names  of  places,  of  which  the  word  "  elm"  forms  a 
part,  are  to  be  met  with  in  "  Domesday  Book," 
the  drawing  up  of  which  was  finished  in  1086. 

Elm  is  a  tough  and  strong  timber;  but  it  is  coarse 
and  open  in  the  grain,  more  especially  when  it  has 
grown  upon  very  rich  land.  That  which  grows  in  the 
more  fertile  parts  of  England  is  far  inferior  to  the  pro- 
duce of  the  midland  counties  of  Scotland;  the  latter 
being  much  closer  in  the  grain,  harder,  more  handsome, 
and  taking  a  finer  polish.  Of  the  one,  chairs  and 
other  articles  of  furniture  are  made,  while  the  other  is 
seldom  used  but  for  coarse  purposes — casks,  coffins, 
wooden  presses,  &c.  The  Scotch  seems  to  be  the 


THE    ELM. 


95 


Elm — Ulmus  campestris. 

Mountain  Elm  (Ulmus  montana),  called  wych-hazel, 
or  wych-elm  in  some  parts  of  England,  and  cor- 
rupted to  "  witch  elm."  The  timber  of  this  is  some- 
times described  as  being  inferior  to  that  of  the  elm 
of  the  plains  in  closeness  and  strength;  but  the 
ancient  statute  enjoining  the  use  of  bows,  in  which 
the  wych-hazel  is  mentioned,  and  the  elm  not,  is 
against  that  hypothesis. 

The  elm  attains  a  large  size,  and  lives  to  a  great 
age.  Mention  is  made  of  one  planted  by  Henry  IV. 
of  France,  which  was  standing  at  the  Luxembourg 
at  the  commencement  of  the  French  Revolution. 
One  at  the  upper  end  of  Church-lane,  Chelsea,  (said 
to  have  been  planted  by  Queen  Elizabeth,)  was  felled 
in  1745.  It  was  thirteen  feet  in  circumference  at 
the  bottom,  and*  one  hundred  and  ten  feet  high. 
Piffes'  elm,  near  the  Boddington  Oak,  in  the  vale  of 
Gloucester,  was,  in  1783,  about  eighty  feet  high,  and 
the  smallest  girth  of  the  principal  trunk  was  sixteen 
feet.  From  the  planting  of  Sir  Francis  Bacon's 
elms,  in  Gray's  Inn  walks,  in  1600,  and  their  decay 
about  1720,  one  would  be  disposed  to  assign  the 


96  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

healthy  period  of  the  elm  to  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  years.  The  health  of  these  must  have  been, 
however,  affected  in  some  degree  by  the  smoke  of 
London.  The  superb  avenue  called  "  The  Long 
Walk"  at  Windsor,  was  planted  at  the  beginning  of 
the  last  century.  Most  of  the  trees  have  evidently 
passed  their  prime.  The  most  profitable  age  of 
elms,  both  for  quantity  and  quality  of  timber,  is, 
probably  about  fifty  or  sixty  years.  The  central 
parts  of  a  tree  get  indurated,  lose  their  natural 
sap,  and  are  apt  to  absorb  moisture,  by  which 
they  soon  rot  on  exposure  to  the  air,  long  before 
the  dry  rot  consumes  them,  shielded  as  they  are  by 
the  external  parts.  The  predominance  of  resin  inso- 
luble in  water,  and  not  liable  to  be  acted  on  by  the 
acids  of  the  atmosphere,  is  the  cause  why  the  pine 
and  the  larch  are  more  durable  than  the  silver  fir  and 
the  spruce.  It  is  possible  that  the  elm  is  injured  by 
too  much  humidity  in  the  soil  upon  which  it  grows; 
and  that  the  Dutch  elm,  which  is  usually  classed  as 
a  different  species  from  the  common  elm,  and  of 
which  the  timber  is  good  for  nothing,  may  be  merely 
the  common  one  debased  in  the  humid  soil  of  Holland. 
The  elm  rises  to  a  greater  height  than  the  gene- 
rality of  English  forest  trees,  with  a  foliage  at  once 
full  and  hanging  loosely,  and  thus  capable  of  receiv- 
ing great  masses  of  light,  and  of  producing  "  the 
chequered  shade,"  which  imparts  such  a  sparkling 
beauty  to  woodland  scenes.  It  is  the  first  tree  which 
salutes  the  spring  with  its  light  and  cheerful  green; 
and  sometimes  very  early  in  the  season  the  branches 
are  dark  with  innumerable  small  purple  flowers,  often 
as  full  as  the  subsequent  leafy  foliage.  At  this  time 
(April),  the  common  elms  in  Hyde-park  present  this 
singular  and  beautiful  appearance.  The  bloom  of 
forest  trees  is  not  always  annual. 


THE    ELM.  97 

The  elm  has  been  always  considered  as  one  of  the 
trees  which  can  be  most  safely  transplanted  after 
attaining  considerable  size.  Evelyn  gives  several 
accounts  of  trees  of  this  species  being  thus  removed 
into  other  soils.  Upon  this  subject  we  may  properly 
enter  into  some  detail,  as  the  public  attention  has 
been  recently  much  fixed  on  a  practical  plan  for  the 
transplantation  of  large  trees. 

Though  timber  trees  be  among  the  most  delight- 
ful ornaments  with  which  any  country  can  be  graced, 
they  are  ornaments  which,  generally  speaking,  a 
man  cannot  procure  for  himself.  If  they  be  raised 
from  seed,  or  planted  as  saplings,  the  grandson  of 
the  planter  is  probably  the  first  that  can  enjoy  their 
beauty,  and  walk  under  their  shade.  Hence  a  method 
of  transplanting  full-grown  timber  is  a  very  desirable 
art.  Nor  is  it  desirable  only  for  merely  ornamental 
purposes,  for  the  shelter  which  trees  afford  to  the 
soil  is  one  of  the  surest  means  of  increasing  the 
warmth  and  fertility  of  a  country;  and  many  districts 
have  been  converted  from  bleakness  and  sterility,  to 
productiveness  and  value,  by  plantations  of  timber. 
This  is  particularly  the  case  where  the  wind  blows 
over  those  cold  surfaces  of  heath  and  morass,  which 
occur  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  island  of  Great 
Britain.  The  subject  has  not  been  investigated  with 
that  attention  which  its  importance  merits,  but  ap- 
pearances render  it  highly  probable  that  the  spawn  of 
mosses  and  lichens  are  wafted  by  the  winds;  and  that 
if  these  winds  are  not  purified  from  the  pestilent 
spawn,  they  spread  a  noxious  vegetable  growth  over 
what  would  otherwise  be  fertile  land.  In  many  places 
we  have  seen  belts  of  plantations  act  as  a  sort  of 
filter  for  the  winds.  The  trees  next  to  a  marshy 
heath  have  been  covered  with  lichens,  so  that  no  part 
of  the  bark  was  visible;  while  in  the  interior  of  the 
belt,  and  on  the  side  most  distant  from  the  barren 

VOL.    II.  9 


98  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

track,  the  bark  has  been  free  from  these  parasites. 
Further,  after  the  trees  have  attained  sufficient 
size  to  shelter  the  land,  the  moss  has  disappeared 
from  it,  and  the  soil  has  become  fit  for  the  pro- 
duction of  valuable  crops.  Nor  is  it  on  trees  alone  that 
this  effect  of  winds,  from  cold  and  watery  tracks,  may 
be  perceived;  for  those  sides  of  ancient  and  elevated 
buildings  which  are  opposed  to  them,  are  incrusted 
with  moss  and  lichen,  while  the  other  sides  are  com- 
paratively clean.  To  any  one  who  has  paid  much 
attention  to  the  more  sterile  districts  of  the  country, 
it  is  matter  of  every-day  notice,  that  nothing  tends  so 
much  to  confine  within  bounds  the  plants  which  are 
hostile  to  the  grasses  and  cultivated  crops,  as  timber; 
and  this  being  the  case,  it  follows  that  the  means  of 
procuring  an  instantaneous  shelter  of  grown  timber 
are,  at  the  same  time,  the  surest  means  of  procuring, 
comparatively,  instantaneous  fertility.  In  very  many 
instances  that  we  have  seen,  the  land,  when  not  shel- 
tered by  timber,  has  returned  to  its  original  sterility, 
whenever  it  has  been  allowed  to  lie  in  grass;  but 
when  so  sheltered,  the  pastures  have  retained  their 
greenness  for  years,  and,  instead  of  being  deteriorated, 
have  been  improved  by  remaining  for  a  few  years  out 
of  tillage. 

The  transplantation  of  grown  timber-trees  appears, 
indeed,  to  be  the  only  way,  by  which  shelter  can  be 
restored  to  cold,  bleak,  and  exposed  districts.  The 
remains  of  large  trees,  which  are  found  in  the  mosses 
and  bogs  of  such  districts,  prove  that  once  both  the 
soil  and  climate  have  been  adapted  to  the  production 
of  wood.  This  is  true  not  only  of  those  countries 
where  timber  is  still  to  be  found  in  warm  and  shel- 
tered places,  but  in  those  dreary  climes  where  now 
hardly  a  shrub  is  to  be  found,  and  where,  although 
young  timber  be  planted,  it  will  not  grow, — as  in  the 


THE    ELM.  99 

counties  of  Sutherland  and  Caithness,  the  Orkney 
and  Shetland  Isles,  and  even  in  Iceland  itself.  The 
latitude  has  not  altered  since  the  trees  which  are 
found  in  the  peat-bogs  of  those  regions  were  green 
and  flourishing  upon  the  surface ;  and  if  the  soil  and 
the  climate  have  been  deteriorated,  it  must  have  been 
by  exposure  to  the  damp  and  bleaching  winds.  Those 
winds,  as  has  been  said,  prove  fatal  to  young  trees; 
but  it  is  probable  that,  if  grown  timber,  of  the  more 
hardy  sorts,  could  be  introduced  as  a  shelter,  the 
land  would  recover  its  former  fertility,  and  the  land- 
scape its  ancient  beauty. 

The  observations  of  philosophical  travellers  and 
inquirers,  with  regard  to  the  whole  of  the  northern 
countries  of  the  world,  whether  in  the  eastern  conti- 
nent or  the  western,  confirm  these  remarks.  Sir 
Hans  Sloane,  in  his  account  of  the  bogs  of  Ireland, 
mentions  that  a  great  part  of  those  districts  which 
are  now  covered  by  that  unprofitable  substance,  must 
have  been  once  clothed  with  forests  of  trees.  Broke, 
in  his  "  Winter  in  Lapland  and  Sweden,"  notices 
the  same  change  as  having  taken  place  in  the  north 
of  Lapland  and  the  islands.  Sir  George  Mackenzie 
and  others  observe  the  same  as  being  the  case  in  Ice- 
land ;  and  Hearne  mentions  that  large  tracts  of  the 
northern  parts  of  America,  which  at  his  visit  were 
covered  with  moss  and  swamp,  were  forests  in  the 
days  of  the  fathers  of  the  Indians  then  living.  In 
many  parts  of  the  Highlands  and  western  islands  of 
Scotland,  where  there  is  now  hardly  a  tree,  or,  at 
most,  only  coppice,  along  the  shores  of  the  lochs, 
(arms  of  the  sea,)  there  are  found  not  only  the  trunks 
and  roots  of  trees  in  the  soil  of  the  bogs,  but  the 
roots  of  oaks  of  large  dimensions  standing  on  the 
surface;  nor  can  the  period  at  which  they  were 
growing  have  been  very  remote,  for,  in  some  of  the 
wild  and  almost  inaccessible  glens  (especially  in  the 


100  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

district  of  Morven,)  we  have  met  with  very  large 
trunks,  lying  mouldering  and  neglected.  Indeed, 
all  the  evidence  that  we  have  been  able  to  collect 
tends  to  prove,  that  the  general  climate  of  the  north 
has  been  deteriorated  by  the  destruction  of  timber, 
whether  that  destruction  has  been  produced  by  na- 
tural or  by  artificial  means;  and  though  farming 
may  do  much,  it  must  carry  on  an  extensive  warfare 
against  the  bleak  and  blasting  wind  from  the  bogs 
and  heaths,  unless  that  be  softened  and  deprived  of 
the  pestilent  substances  which  it  carries,  by  passing 
through  forests  of  trees. 

The  transplanting  of  grown  timber  is  by  no  means 
a  modern  art.  Theophrastus,  the  Greek  writer  upon 
rural  economy,  mentions  that  the  Greeks  not  only  re- 
planted the  plane  tree  when  uprooted  by  the  winds, 
but  were  in  the  habit  of  removing  other  large  trees. 
The  Romans,  too,  according  to  Pliny,  transplanted, 
when  they  were  twenty  feet  high,  the  elms  which  they 
used  in  their  vineyards,  as  poles  upon  which  to  train 
their  vines.  These  were  planted  in  regular  rows,  nine 
feet  asunder.  Seneca  the  younger  mentions,  that  an 
entire  orchard  of  full-grown  trees  was  removed  from 
one  place  to  another,  near  the  villa  of  Scipio  Afri- 
canus,  and  that  after  a  season  or  two  they  flourished 
and  bore  fruit  as  well  as  ever.  It  appears,  however, 
that  in  the  ancient  method  of  transplanting  grown  trees, 
whether  by  the  Greeks  or  the  Romans,  it  was  the 
practice  to  cut  off  all  the  spray  and  smaller  branches, 
and  even  the  large  ones,  to  within  a  foot  of  the  stem. 
Indeed,  from  the  way  in  which  they  cut  both  the 
top  and  the  roots,  it  is  evident  that  though  the  trunks 
of  the  trees  were  old,  the  whole  of  the  vegetation  was 
new. 

During  the  middle  ages,  this  art  was  neglected, 
along  with  most  of  the  other  arts;  but  it  was  revived  in 
modern  times.  Among  the  early  instances  of  it,  one 


THE    ELM.  101 

of  the  most  remarkable  is  that  mentioned  by  Gasper 
Barkeus,  as  having  been  affected  by  Count  Maurice 
of  Nassau,  when  he  was  governor  of  Brazil,  in  1636. 
Like  most  Dutch  colonists  (for  Brazil  was  then  a 
.Dutch  colony),  Count  Maurice  fixed  his  abode  on 
the  shore,  or  rather  upon  an  island,  at  the  confluence 
of  two  rivers.  The  place  was  naturally  as  naked  as 
Holland  itself,  but  the  taste  and  spirit  of  the  Count 
soon  erected  a  palace,  and  surrounded  it  by  a  garden 
of  the  most  extensive  and  luxuriant  character.  Pine- 
apples, citrons,  and  oranges  were  quickly  found  in 
abundance,  and  more  than  seven  hundred  cocoa-nut 
trees,  some  of  them  fifty  feet  in  height,  were  trans- 
planted. These  trees  were  seventy  or  eighty  years 
old,  and  they  had  to  be  carried  four  miles,  partly  on 
wheel-carriages  by  land,  and  partly  on  rafts  by  water; 
but  skill  and  perseverance  overcame  every  difficulty, 
and  this  magnificent  artificial  forest  flourished,  and 
bore  abundance  of  fruit  the  very  first  season.  That, 
however,  was  to  be  expected;  for  if  a  large  fruit-tree 
which  is  transplanted  lives,  it  always  at  least  forms 
fruit  the  first  year,  although  it  may  not  bear  again 
for  several  years  after. 

About  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  there 
were  some  operations  of  a  similar  kind  in  Europe. 
The  Elector  Palatine  removed  some  large  lime-trees 
from  the  forest  of  Heidelberg  to  a  slope  in  sight  of 
his  palace.  These  were  removed  at  midsummer, 
when  in  the  full  strength  of  vegetation,  and  the  heads 
of  them  all  were  cut  down;  but  there  are,  probably, 
few  trees,  except  the  lime,  that  could  bear  to  be  so 
treated.  About  the  same  time,  M.  de  Fiat,  a  French 
Marshal,  removed,  as  Evelyn  says,  "huge  oaks," 
at  the  Chateau  de  Fiat;  and,  on  the  same  autho- 
rity, we  are  told  that  "  a  great  person  in  Devon 
planted  oaks  as  big  as  twelve  oxen  could  draw,  to 
supply  some  defects  in  an  avenue  to  his  house;"  and 

VOL.    II.  9* 


102         VEGETABLE  SUBSTAXCES. 

Lord  Fitzharding  "  likewise  practised  the  removing 
of  great  oaks,  by  a  particular  address,  extremely  in- 
genious, and  worthy  of  communication."*  The  most 
extensive  of  the  continental  transplanters  was  Louis 
XIV.,  who  removed  an  entire  forest,  the  Bois  de 
Boulogne,  from  Versailles  to  its  present  site,  a  dis- 
tance of  more  than  seven  miles.  But  these  were  ef- 
forts of  power  rather  than  of  science,  for  the  trees 
were  much  torn  and  mutilated  by  the  operation.  The 
great  transplanting  machine  which  was  made  use  of 
in  these  extraordinary  experiments  remained  at  Ver- 
sailles till,  probably,  about  the  time  of  the  French  re- 
volution. 

Le  Notre  was  the  artist  employed  in  those  opera- 
tions— the  same  who  laid  out  the  gardens  of  Ver- 
sailles, and  planted  St.  James's  and  Greenwich  parks 
hi  this  country.  Nor  were  the  undertakings  of  Louis, 
in  the  removing  of  timber,  confined  to  the  vicinity  of 
the  French  capital ;  for  many  of  them  were  performed 
in  the  provinces;  and  of  these  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable was  effected  at  Mont-Louis,  a  small  cha- 
teau near  the  foot  of  the  Pyrenees,  where,  in  the 
course  of  a  few  weeks,  a  scene  previously  naked  was 
clothed  with  forests  and  groves  of  great  magnificence. 
Evelyn  informs  us  that  the  example  of  the  French 
was  soon  followed  in  this  country;  and  that  he  him- 
self had  "  frequently  removed  elms  as  big  as  his 
waist."  He  describes  the  elm  as  bearing  removal 
better  than  any  other  species ;  but  the  instance  of  the 
lime-trees  moved  by  the  Elector  Palatine  shows  how 
well  that  tree  can  bear  transplantation,  even  in  the 
most  dangerous  season. 

The  methods  at  first  used  for  the  transporting  of 
trees,  if  not  very  scientific,  were  extremely  ingenious. 
The  object  was  to  raise  them  with  a  large  ball  of 
earth,  and  move  them  along  in  a  vertical  position. 

*  Evelyn's  Sylva,  by  Hunter,  i.  102. 


THE    ELM.  103 

Sometimes  they  called  in  the  aid  of  frost,  by  cutting 
a  trench  and  removing  the  earth  round  the  tree  before 
the  autumnal  rains.  When  the  frost  set  in,  the  bulb 
was  consolidated,  and  could  be  cut  out  in  one  mass, 
along  with  the  tree.  But  in  the  case  of  large  trees, 
the  weight  of  these  bulbs  was  very  great;  and  they 
could  be  raised  only  by  powerful  cranes,  which  were 
also  necessary  to  move  the  tree  to  and  from  the  plat- 
form on  which  it  was  transported.  The  platform  was 
made  low,  and  with  small  wheels,  which  further  aug- 
mented the  force  necessary  for  its  removal;  and  thus 
the  transportation  of  even  a  moderate  tree  for  a  short 
distance,  required  a  great  deal  of  animal  power. 
Many  trees  were,  however,  moved  about  Blenheim, 
and  some  of  the  other  seats  of  the  nobility. 

About  sixty  years  after  the  time  of  Evelyn,  the 
"  transplanting  machine"  was  invented  by  Brown,  the 
celebrated  landscape-gardener,  and  the  removal  of 
large  trees  became  much  more  easy.  The  machine  con- 
sisted of  two  very  high  wheels,  an  axle,  and  a  pole  ; 
and  when  the  trees  were  large,  a  truck- wheel  was  used 
at  the  end  of  the  pole.  The  tree  was  considerably 
lopped,  the  earth  loosened  from  the  roots,  the  pole 
set  erect  and  lashed  to  the  stem;  and  then  a  pur- 
chase being  made  fast  to  the  upper  part  of  the  pole, 
the  whole  was  pulled  at  once,  and  drawn  horizontally 
along. 

Still,  though  this  machine,  and  the  mode  of  using 
it,  were  great  improvements  upon  the  methods  re- 
commended by  Evelyn,  yet  the  trees  were  subjected 
to  much  mutilation ;  and  they  did  not  recover  their 
beauty  and  vigour  till  some  time  had  elapsed. 

In  the  year  1816,  a  much  improved  mode  of  trans- 
planting grown  timber  was  introduced  by  Sir  Henry 
Stuart,  of  Allanton.  By  the  practice  of  that  mode, 
he,  in  the  course  of  five  years,  and  at  an  expense 
remarkably  moderate,  converted  his  park,  from  a  cold 


104  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

and  naked  field,  to  a  rich  scene  of  glade  and  wood- 
land. Sir  Henry's  success  has  been  so  complete, 
that  his  example  has  been  followed  by  many  other 
proprietors  in  the  uplands  or  central  part  of  the 
south  of  Scotland.  Generally  speaking,  that  part  of 
the  island  is  remarkably  destitute  of  timber;  and  as 
the  country  is  pastured  by  sheep,  which  require 
fences  more  elevated  and  also  more  close  than  cattle, 
the  rearing  of  wood,  in  the  common  way  of  planting, 
is  very  expensive.  The  nakedness  of  that  part  of 
Scotland  is  severely  felt  in  the  violence  of  the  winds, 
which  are  certainly  more  tempestuous,  and  attended 
by  more  intense  cold,  than  in  some  places  of  the 
country  much  further  to  the  north, — the  snows  never 
falling  to  the  same  depth,  or  being  accompanied  by 
the  same  violence  on  the  Grampians  in  Perthshire, 
as  upon  the  naked  mountains  in  the  counties  of  Sel- 
kirk and  Peebles.  In  this  part  of  the  country,  there- 
fore, the  invention  by  Sir  Henry  Stuart  is  of  the 
utmost  value.  Nor  is  its  value  confined  to  those 
districts  in  which  wood  is  wanted;  for  there  is  much 
in  the  disposition  of  trees,  not  only  as  respects  beauty, 
but  as  regards  usefulness;  and  by  Sir  Henry's  plan 
growing  timber  may  be  moved,  at  no  very  great 
expense,  from  one  place  to  another,  and  that  without 
almost  the  least  interruption  of  its  growth. 

According  to  this  method,  there  is  no  mutilation 
of  the  tree, — not  a  branch  is  lopped  off  ;  and  at  the 
time  of  the  removal,  not  a  root  is  broken:  the  trees 
are  prepared  before  they  are  begun  to  be  removed. 
This  preparation  consists  in  cutting  all  the  roots  at 
some  distance  from  the  tree.  It  is  well  known  that 
such  an  operation,  instead  of  being  hurtful  to  trees, 
is  often  of  advantage.  When  the  long  lateral  roots 
are  cut,  the  stumps,  if  they  have  not  been  rendered 
too  short,  put  out  a  number  of  young  fibres,  which 
appear  to  draw  and  convey  the  nourishment  with 


THE    ELM. 


105 


more   effect  than  those   fibres  that  are    connected 
with  the  more  extended  roots. 

The  most  handsome  and  thriving  trees  are  se- 
lected, as  those  that  will  bear  transplantation  with  the 
least  danger;  and  the  lateral  roots  being  divided, 
as  has  been  stated,  the  stumps  are  covered  with  fresh 
mould,  in  which  they  are  left  for  two  or  three  years, 
in  order  that  they  may  put  out  new  fibres  for  the 
absorption  of  nourishment.  This  preparation  of  the 
tree  actually  improves  it;  as  the  fibres  have  to  fetch 
the  nourishment  from  a  shorter  distance.  The  tree, 
being  thus  prepared,  can  be  moved  not  only  without 
mutilating  the  top,  but  also  without  tearing  up  the  root; 
and  thus  the  transplanting,  if  performed  with  skill,  be- 
comes a  healthful  rather  than  a  dangerous  operation. 
The  pits  for  the  reception  of  the  trees  are,  in  the  mean 
time,  got  ready;  and  for  trees  of  about  thirty  feet  in 
height  (the  diameter  of  the  trunk  of  such  a  tree  may 
average  about  a  foot),  the  diameter  of  these  pits  is 
about  eighteen  feet.  The  earth  of  the  pits  is  trenched 
to  the  depth  of  about  two  feet,  and  in  the  course  of 
the  trenching,  it  is  well  mixed  with  compost  of  a  nature 
as  different  as  possible  from  that  of  the  soil;  and 
the  ground  thus  prepared  is  the  better  if  it  lie  for  a 
year  or  more,  in  order  that  the  component  parts  of 
the  soil  may  be  properly  mixed  and  mellowed. 
When  that  has  been  done,  the  planting  is  accom- 
plished, by  removing  the  earth  to  a  proper  depth, 
placing  the  tree  in  the  pit  thus  made  for  it,  adjusting 
the  roots  as  nearly  as  possible  to  their  natural  order, 
and  then  covering  them  with  earth.  This  being 
properly  accomplished,  the  firmness  which  the  trees 
have  is  much  greater  than  would  at  first  sight  be 
suspected.  Though  the  trees  hi  Allanton  park  are 
a  good  deal  exposed  to  the  violence  of  the  winds,  yet 
they  do  not  require  to  be  much  propped. 

The  expense  of  this  system  of  transplantation  is 


106  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

comparatively  trifling;  and  if  there  be  a  supply  of 
trees  at  not  too  great  a  distance,  there  is  no  question 
that  a  park  may  be  ornamented,  or  land  sheltered,  by 
this  means,  much  more  cheaply  than  by  any  other, 
and  with  the  incomparable  advantage  that  it  is  done 
at  once.  After  the  ground  has  been  prepared,  the 
whole  expense  of  removing  and  replanting  the  trees 
is  not  more  than  from  ten  to  thirteen  shillings  each, 
for  trees  of  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  feet  in  height; 
about  half  that  sum  for  smaller  ones;  and  not  above 
two  shillings  or  eighteen  pence  for  shrubs  or  brush- 
wood. The  following  is  Sir  Henry's  account  of  his 
park,  extracted  from  his  "  Planter's  Guide": — 

"  There  was  in  this  park  originally  no  water,  and 
scarcely  a  tree  or  a  bush  on  the  banks  and  promon- 
tories of  the  present  lake  and  river,  for  the  water 
partakes  of  both  these  characters.  During  the  sum- 
mer of  1820  the  water  was  executed;  and  in  that 
and  the  following  year,  the  grounds  immediately 
adjoining  were  abundantly  covered  with  wood,  by 
means  of  the  transplanting  machine.  Groups  and 
single  trees,  grove  and  underwood,  were  introduced, 
in  every  style  of  disposition,  which  the  subject  seemed 
to  admit.  Where  the  turf  recedes  from,  or  ap- 
proaches the  water,  the  ground  is  somewhat  bold 
and  irregular,  although  without  striking  features  of 
any  sort;  yet  the  profusion  of  wood,  scattered  over 
a  surface  of  moderate  limits,  in  every  form  and  va- 
riety, gave  it  an  intricacy  and  an  expression  which  it 
had  never  possessed  before. 

"  By  the  autumn  of  the  third  year  only  after  the 
execution,  namely  1823,  when  the  Committee  of  the 
Highland  Society  honoured  the  place  with  their  in- 
spection, the  different  parts  seemed  to  harmonize  with 
one  another,  and  the  intended  effects  were  nearly  pro- 
duced. What  it  was  wished  to  bring  forward  appeared 
already  prominent — what  was  to  be  concealed,  or 


THE    ELM.  107 

thrown  into  the  back-ground,  began  to  assume  that 
station.  The  fore-ground  trees,  the  best  that  could 
be  procured,  placed  on  the  eastern  bank,  above  the 
water,  broke  it  into  parts  with  their  spreading 
branches,  and  formed  combinations  which  were  ex- 
tremely pleasing.  The  copse  or  underwood,  which 
covers  an  island  in  the  lake,  and  two  promontories, 
as  also  an  adjoining  bank  that  terminates  the  dis- 
tance, was  seen  coining  down  nearly  to  the  water's 
edge.  What  was  the  most  important  of  all,  both 
trees  and  underwood  had  obtained  a  full  and  deep- 
coloured  leaf,  and  health  and  vigour  were  restored  to 
them.  In  a  word,  the  whole  appeared  like  a  spot  at 
least  forty  years  planted." 

ASH. 

There  are  about  forty  species  of  the  Ash :  the  Com- 
mon Jlsh  (Fraxinus  excelsior)  is  one  of  the  most  valu- 
able of  trees.  It  has  been  known  from  the  remotest 
period  of  history,  and  it  is  very  generally  diffused. 
The  Ash  agrees  with  a  greater  variety  of  soil  and  situa- 
tion than,  perhaps,  any  other  tree  producing  timber  of 
equal  value;  and,  differing  from  many  other  trees,  its 
value  is  increased  rather  than  diminished  by  the 
rapidity  of  its  growth.  On  very  poor  soils,  where  it 
grows  stunted,  it  is  brittle,  and  soon  affected  by  the 
rot;  but,  where  the  growth  has  been  vigorous,  the 
compact  part  of  the  several  layers  bears  a  greater 
proportion  to  the  spongy,  and  the  timber  is  very 
tough,  elastic,  and  durable.  In  elasticity  it  is  far 
superior  to  the  oak,  and  it  is  not  so  liable  to  be 
broken  by  a  cross  strain;  but  it  is  much  more  fibrous, 
and  more  easily  split.  The  ash  is,  by  way  of  emi- 
nence, called  "  the  Husbandman's  tree,"  nothing 
being  equal  to  it  for  agricultural  implements,  and 
for  all  sorts  of  poles,  ladders,  long  handles,  and 


108  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

other  purposes  which  require  strength  and  elasticity 
combined  with  comparative  lightness. 

At  all  ages  the  growth  of  the  ash  is  of  value :  the 
thinnings  of  young  plantations,  and  the  suckers  that 
spring  up  from  the  roots  of  grown  trees,  or  from  the 
stools  of  trees  that  have  been  cut  down,  are  excel- 
lent for  hoops,  hop-poles,  and  every  other  purpose 
where  clean,  light,  and  strong  rods  are  wanted  at 
small  expense.  The  leaves  and  even  the  twigs  are 
eaten  by  cattle  with  great  avidity;  the  bark  is  useful 
in  tanning;  and  the  wood  yields,  when  burnt,  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  potash. 

The  drip  of  the  ash  is  injurious  to  most  other 
plants,  and,  therefore,  when  it  is  planted  in  corn- 
fields, a  certain  portion  round  it  is  unproductive  ; 
but,  in  marshy  situations,  the  roots  of  it,  which  run 
a  long  way  at  a  considerable  depth,  act  as  under- 
drains.  Hence  the  proverb,  in  some  parts  of 
the  country,  "  May  your  foot-fall  be  by  the  root 
of  an  ash" — may  you  get  a  firm  footing.  Some 
idea  of  the  change  of  times  and  opinions  may 
be  formed  from  the  value  set  upon  the  ash,  in  the 
extract  given  from  the  laws  of  Howel  Dda,  in 
the  preceding  notice  of  the  yew-tree,  wherein, 
while  a  branch  of  misletoe  is  reckoned  at  thirty 
shillings,  an  ash,  not  being  named,  must  be  classed 
with  "  trees  after  a  thorn,"  and  therefore  be  rated 
at  fourpence  !  In  the  useful  arts,  one  good  ash  is 
worth  all  the  misletoe  that  ever  grew,  or  ever  will 
grow.  It  is  true  that,  since  the  Druids  were  suc- 
ceeded by  a  more  rational  priesthood,  and  the  mis- 
letoe was  changed  from  sacred  to  profane  use,  it  has 
been  used  in  the  manufacture  of  bird-lime;  but  it 
may  very  reasonably  be  doubted  whether  any  one 
was  ever  engaged  in  using  that  article  whose  time 
could  not  have  been  better  employed.  Such  was  the 
veneration  of  some  of  the  ancients  for  the  ash,  that 


THE    ASH. 


109 


Fraxima  excelsior. 

Hesiod  derives  his  brazen  men  from  it  ;  and  the 
Edda,  or  sacred  book  of  the  Northmen,  gives  the 
same  origin  to  all  the  human  race. 

From  one  species  of  the  ash,  which  grows  wild 
in  the  mountains  of  Calabria,  and  does  not  attain 
to  a  great  size,  manna  is  gathered.  It  is  procured 
by  cutting  the  trunk  toward  the  end  of  July,  and 
collecting  the  juice  which  exudes. 

The  ash  does  not  grow  to  such  thickness  as  some 
of  the  other  forest-trees.  Dr.  Plot  mentions  one 
eight  feet  in  diameter  ;  Mr.  Marsham  another,  at 
Dumbarton,  nearly  seventeen  feet  in  girth;  Arthur 
Young  mentions  one  in  Ireland  that  had  reached  the 
height  of  nearly  eighty  feet  in  thirty-five  years;  and 

TOL.     II.  10 


110  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

one  is  spoken  of  in  the  county  of  Galway,  a  district 
not  remarkable  for  timber,  as  forty-two  feet  in  cir- 
cumference, at  four  feet  from  the  ground.  In- 
stances of  so  great  dimensions  are  not  numerous, 
however;  and  it  is  not  desirable  that  the  ash  should 
be  left  for  such  a  growth,  as  trees  of  fewer  years,  and 
inferior  scantling,  are  invariably  better  timber. 

Gilpin,  in  his  work  on  Forest  Scenery,  calls  the 
oak  the  Hercules  of  the  Forest,  and  the  ash  the 
Venus.  The  chief  characteristic  of  the  one  is 
strength;  of  the  other,  elegance.  The  ash  carries  its 
principal  stem  higher  than  the  oak ;  its  whole  appear- 
ance is  that  of  lightness,  and  the  looseness  of  the 
leaves  corresponds  with  the  lightness  of  the  spray. 
Its  bloom  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  appearances 
of  vegetation.  The  ash,  however,  drops  its  leaves 
very  early;  and,  instead  of  contributing  its  tint  to  the 
many-coloured  foliage  of  the  autumnal  woods,  it 
presents  wide  blanks  of  desolated  boughs.  In  old 
age,  too,  it  loses  that  grandeur  and  beauty  which 
the  oak  preserves. 

Though  the  name  be  in  part  the  same,  and  there 
be  a  little  similarity  in  the  form  of  the  leaves,  the 
ash  must  not  be  confounded  with  the  mountain  ash 
(Pyrus  aucuparia,)  which  is  quite  a  different  tree 
The  two  species  have  this  in  common,  that  the  wood 
is  tough,  and  the  suckers,  which  spring  plentifully  from 
the  roots  of  both,  are  fit  for  hoops  and  other  purposes; 
but  the  mountain  ash  is  a  slow  growing-tree,  never 
attains  any  very  valuable  size,  and  the  timber  is  soft 
and  not  durable.  It  is  a  hardy  tree,  growing  any- 
where ;  and  its  bright  red  berries,  as  well  as  its  white 
flowers,  make  it  rather  an  ornamental  plant  in  a  shrub- 
bery; but  it  is  seldom  if  ever  planted  as  a  timber-tree, 
though,  in  the  days  of  superstition  and  folly,  it  was  in 
some  repute  as  a  spell  against  witchcraft. 

The  mountain  ash  is  a  beautiful  object  intermingled 


THE    SERVICE.  Ill 

with  the  dark  pines  and  waving  birch,  which  cast  a 
solemn  gloom  over  the  hills  of  the  north.  In  sum- 
mer, the  light  green  tint  of  its  foliage  happily  con- 
trasts with  the  deeper  green  of  the  surrounding  trees; 
and,  in  autumn,  its  glowing  berries  sparkle  amidst  the 
dark  brown  cones  of  the  larch  and  the  spruce. 


Service — Pyrus  domeitica. 


The  True  Service  (Pyrus  domestica)  is  a  native 
of  the  south  of  Europe.  It  is  generally  cultivated 
here  as  a  shrub,  but  in  time,  though  a  very  long  time, 
it  becomes  a  tree  of  considerable  size.  The  wood  is 
compact  and  strong,  and  often  made  into  weavers' 
shuttles,  and  the  wooden  parts  of  other  small  tools 
and  implements.  Notwithstanding  the  goodness  of  its 
timber,  the  service  tree  could  never  be  profitably  culti- 
vated in  this  country,  in  consequence  of  the  slowness 
of  its  growth. 

The  fruits  of  the  service  remain  on  the  tree  during 
a  part  of  the  winter:  they  have  cathartic  properties; 
but  the  people  of  Kamchatka  use  them  as  food  when 
they  have  been  mellowed  by  frost.  In  some  parts  of 
the  North  an  ardent  spirit  is  produced  from  them  by 
distillation. 


CHAPTER  V. 

BIRCH,  ALDER,  MAPLE,  LIME,  HORSE- 
CHESNUT,  POPLAR,  WILLOW. 

BIRCH  AND  ALDER  (BETULA). 

IN  situations  where  better  sorts  can  be  had,  the 
birch  and  alder  are  of  comparatively  little  value  as 
timber-trees;  but  as  they  thrive  in  many  situations 
where  no  other  tree,  save  the  pine,  will  grow,  and 
where  even  that  is  stunted  and  unprofitable,  they  are 
deserving  of  some  consideration. 

The  birch  is  a  native  of  cold  and  inhospitable 
climates;  and  the  dwarf  birch  is  the  last  tree  that  is 
found  as  we  approach  the  snow  in  elevated  regions. 
At  the  island  of  Hammerfest,  lat.  70°  40',  the  dwarf- 
birch,  in  the  sheltered  hollows  between  the  moun- 
tains, rises  to  about  the  height  of  a  man;  and  in  the 
low  branches  which  creep  along  the  ground,  the 
ptarmigan  finds  a  summer  shelter,  where  it  breeds 
in  security.  Naturalists  affirm  that  the  birch-tree 
constitutes  the  principal  attraction  to  the  birds  which 
are  found  in  such  plenty  in  high  northern  latitudes; 
the  catkins  affording  them  food  in  the  spring,  and 
the  seeds  during  the  remainder  of  the  year. 

The  Common  Birch  (Betula  alba]  is  a  graceful 
tree,  and  throws  out  a  pretty  strong  and  very  agree- 
able fragrance.  When  it  arrives  at  a  considerable 
size,  the  branches  hang  down  or  "weep;"  and  as 
they  are  sometimes  thirty  or  forty  feet  long,  and  not 
thicker  than  a  common  packthread,  they  are  very 
beautiful,  especially  when  the  points  of  them  are 
laved  in  a  clear  mountain-stream.  Coleridge  calls 
the  Weeping  Birch  "  the  lady  of  the  woods." 


THE    BIRCH. 


113 


Though  the  people  of  more  favoured  places 
rather  despise  the  birch-tree,  and  leave  it  to  the  tur- 
ner, out  of  which  to  make  some  of  the  smaller  of  his 
wares,  or  employ  the  shoots  as  mop-handles  and  the 
twigs  as  brooms,  there  are  situations  in  which  it  is 
among  the  most  valued  and  valuable  productions  of 
nature. 


Birch — Betula  alba. 


In  those  parts  of  the  highlands  of  Scotland  where 
pine  is  not  to  be  had,  the  birch  is  a  timber  for  all 
uses.  The  stronger  stems  are  the  rafters  of  the 
cabin;  wattles  of  the  boughs  are  the  walls  and  the 
door;  even  the  chests  and  boxes  are  of  this  rude 
basket-work.  To  the  Highlander,  it  forms  his  spade, 
his  plough,  and,  if  he  happen  to  have  one,  his  cart 
and  his  harness;  and  when  other  materials  are  used, 
the  cordage  is  still  withies  of  twisted  birch.  These 
birch  ropes  are  far  more  durable  than  ropes  of  hemp; 
and  the  only  preparation  is  to  bark  the  twig,  and  twist 
it  while  green. 

In  ancient  times,  both  in  Britain  and  other  parts  of 
Europe,  strong  and  light  canoes  were  made  of  the 

VOL.  ii.  10* 


114  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCE*. 

tough  bark  of  the  birch;  and  it  is  still  used  for  the 
same  purposes  in  the  northern  parts  of  America.  The 
species  used  for  canoes  by  the  Indians  and  French 
Canadians,  is  called  the  canoe-birch  (Betula  papyra- 
cea  or  Betula  nigra).  In  good  soils  it  reaches  an 
elevation  of  seventy  feet.  The  weight  of  a  canoe 
that  will  hold  four  persons  does  not  exceed  fifty 
pounds. 

The  peasantry  in  some  parts  of  Northern  Europe 
thatch  their  houses  with  the  birch,  weave  the  long 
fibres  into  mats  and  twist  them  into  ropes,  and  even 
grind  the  inner  bark  to  mix  with  their  bread.  The 
bark  is  used  in  the  simple  dyes,  and  also  in  tanning. 
The  Laplanders  use  it  in  the  preparation  of  their 
rein-deer  skins;  and  in  Russia  the  hides  which  are 
so  esteemed  for  binding  books  are  prepared  with  the 
empyreumatic  oil  of  the  birch.  A  weak  but  not 
unpleasant  wine  may  be  obtained  by  draining  the  sap 
in  March,  boiling  it,  and  then  fermenting  it.  The 
Northern  people  also  make  very  neat  baskets  and 
boxes  of  the  bark,  the  Laplanders  carving  the  large 
knots  which  the  trees  put  forth,  into  vases,  which, 
although  fashioned  with  their  rude  knives,  have 
much  of  the  beauty  of  turnery.  In  Kamchatka  also 
it  is  formed  into  drinking  cups.  The  wood  of  the 
birch  on  the  banks  of  the  Gariy,  in  Glengarry, 
Scotland,  is  cut  into  staves,  with  which  herring 
barrels  are  made.  It  is  an  excellent  wood  for 
the  turner,  being  light,  compact,  and  easily  worked; 
and  for  undressed  palings  and  gates,  such  as  are 
used  in  the  sheep  countries,  few  timbers  are  supe- 
rior to  it.  It  is  not  very  durable,  however,  but 
very  cheap,  as  it  thrives  upon  soils  that  are  fit 
for  little  else,  and  sows  itself  without  any  assistance 
from  art.  It  grows  upon  rocks  which  one  would 
think  absolutely  bare;  and  such  is  the  power  of  its 
roots,  that  we  have  seen  them  separate  stones  several 


THE    ALDER. 


115 


tons  in  weight,  to  reach  the  soil.  The  black  birch  of 
America  has  been  imported  into  this  country.  It  is 
compact  and  rather  handsome,  but  it  soon  decays. 
Birch  makes  very  good  charcoal. 


Alder— Alnus  glutinota. 

The  Jllder  (Jllnus  glutinosa)  is  not  so  handsome  a 
tree  as  the  birch,  and  the  timber  is  not  applicable  to 
so  many  useful  purposes.  The  alder  is  a  native  of 
almost  every  part  of .  Europe.  It  thrives  best  in 
marshy  situations,  and  by  the  margins  of  lakes  and 
rivers,  where  it  is  generally  a  large  shrub  rather  than 
a  tree.  As  its  shade  rather  improves  than  injures 
the  grass,  coppices  of  it  afford  good  wintering  for  the 
out-door  stock  on  mountain  grazings. 

The  bark  of  the  alder  contains  a  good  deal  of 
tannin ;  and  the  young  shoots  dye  a  yellow  or  cinna- 
mon colour,  the  wood  a  brown,  and  the  catkins  of  the 
flowers  a  green.  The  twigs  of  the  alder  are  brittle, 
and  so  is  the  stem  when  green.  In  that  state  it  is 
more  easily  worked  than  any  other  timber.  When 
of  considerable  size,  the  timber  of  one  of  the  varieties 


116  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

(there  are  several  of  them)  is  red,  and  often  so  finely 
streaked,  that  it  is  called  Scotch  mahogany  in  the 
north,  and  furniture  is  made  of  it.  That  which  is 
got  out  of  the  bogs,  in  an  undecayed  state,  (and 
though  it  be  not  so  durable  in  the  air  as  birch,  it  lasts 
much  longer  in  water,)  has  the  colour,  if  not  the  con- 
sistency of  ebony.  Of  birch  or  holly,  which  are  very 
white,  of  jumper,  which  has  a  slight  cinnamon  tinge, 
and  of  the  bog  alder  or  the  bog  oak,  both  of  which 
are  black,  the  coopers  in  the  north  of  Scotland  form 
variegated  cups,  some  of  which  are  very  handsome. 
In  moist  situations  alder  does  very  well  for  founda- 
tion piles;  and  from  the  ease  with  which  it  can  be 
perforated  when  green,  and  from  its  not  being  liable 
to  split,  it  is  well  adapted  for  wooden  pipes. 

On  the  banks  of  the  Mole,  in  Surrey,  the  alder 
grows  very  luxuriantly;  and  it  adds  great  beauty  to 
the  landscape  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Dorking  and 
Esher. 

MAPLE. 

Of  the  Maple  (Acer}  there  are  about  thirty-six 
species,  natives  of  various  countries.  SLx  are  indi- 
genous to  Europe,  about  twelve  to  America,  and  the 
remainder  to  various  parts  of  Asia.  Most  of  them  are 
deciduous  trees,  but  one  is  an  evergreen  shrub.  It 
will  be  necessary  to  notice  only  two — the  Grreat  Maple, 
or  Mock-plane  (Acer  psendo-platanus)  ;  and  the 
American  Sugar  Maple  (Acer  saccharinum) — the 
first  on  account  of  its  timber,  and  the  last  on  account 
of  its  sap. 

The  Great  Maple,  called  also  the  sycamore  and 
the  plane-tree,  is  hardy;  stands  the  salt  spray  of  the 
sea  better  than  most  trees;  grows  rapidly,  and  to  a 
great  height.  The  timber  is  very  close  and  compact, 
easily  cut,  and  not  liable  either  to  splinter  or  to  warp. 
•Sometimes  it  is  of  uniform  colour,  and  sometimes  it  is 


117 


-' 


Great  Maple — Acer  pscudo-platanus. 

very  beautifully  curled  and  mottled.  In  the  latter 
state,  as  it  takes  a  fine  polish,  and  bears  varnishing 
well,  it  is  much  used  for  certain  parts  of  musical  in- 
struments. Maple  contains  none  of  those  hard  par- 
ticles which  are  injurious  to  tools,  and  is  therefore 
employed  for  cutting-boards;  and  not  being  apt  to 
warp,  either  with  variations  of  heat  or  of  moisture,  it 
is  an  eligible  material  for  saddle-trees,  wooden  dishes, 
founders'  patterns,  and  many  other  articles  both  of 
furniture  and  of  machinery.  Before  the  general  in- 
troduction of  pottery  ware,  it  was  the  common  mate- 
rial for  bowls  and  platters  of  all  sorts;  and  many  are 
still  made  of  it.  As  the  juice  of  the  maple,  both  in 
the  leaves  and  in  the  tree,  is  sweet,  it  attracts  num- 
bers of  insects.  At  certain  seasons,  the  wild  bees 
and  wasps  may  be  seen  about  it  in  crowds;  and  if 
the  timber  be  placed  so  that  insects  are  allowed  to 


118  VEGETABLE     StTHSTANCES. 


Sugar    Maple — Acer  taccharinum. 

settle  upon  it,  it  is  speedily  attacked  by  the  worm. 
When  kept  dry,  and  free  from  this  attack,  it  will  last 
a  considerable  time;  but  exposed  to  humidity,  it  is 
one  of  the  most  perishable  of  trees. 

The  maple  forms  a  very  pleasing  shade,  from  the 
largeness  of  its  leaves;  but  the  twisting  of  its  branches 
is  injurious  to  its  picturesque  effect.  The  constant 
excoriation  of  its  bark  produces  a  variety  of  hues, 
which  give  colour  to  any  landscape  in  which  the  tree 
is  introduced. 

The  sugar  maple  grows  plentifully  in  the  United 
States;  and  from  the  sap  of  it  the  inhabitants  make 
a  considerable  quantity  of  sugar,  which,  though  in- 
ferior both  in  the  grain  and  in  strength  to  that  which 
is  produced  by  the  cane,  granulates  better  than 
that  of  the  beet  root,  or  any  other  vegetable,  the 
cane  excepted.  The  sugar  maple  is  a  smaller  tree 
than  the  maple  of  this  country;  and  it  is  not  much  in 
repute  as  timber,  although  from  its  abundance  it  is  a 
good  deal  used  in  America, — the  wood,  for  domestic 


THE    LIME.  119 

purposes,  and  the  bark,  as  a  blue  dye,  and  as  an  in- 
gredient in  the  manufacture  of  ink. 

February,  March,  or  April,  according  to  the  state  of 
the  season,  is  the  time  when  the  maple  is  tapped  for 
the  preparation  of  sugar.     A  perforation  is  made  by  an 
auger,  about  two  inches  into  the  tree,  slanting  up- 
wards ;  into  this  a  eane  or  wooden  pipe  is  inserted, 
and  a  vessel  placed  to  receive  the  sap.     The  quantity 
afforded  by  a  tree  varies  both  with  the  tree  and  the 
season  ;    the    most    favourable   season   being   when 
there  is  the  greatest  difference  between  the  heat  of 
the  day  and  that  of  the  night.     From  two  to  three 
gallons  may  be  about  the  daily  average  afforded  by 
a  single  tree;  but  some  trees  have  yielded  more  than 
twenty  gallons  in  a  day,  and  others  not  above  a  pint. 
The  process  by  which  maple  juice  is  boiled  and  clari- 
fied into  sugar,  does  not  differ  materially  from  that 
used  for  cane  juice  in  the  West  Indies.     The  juice 
should  be  as  recently  drawn  as  possible;  for  if  it 
stand  more  than  twenty-four  hours,  it  is  apt  to  un- 
dergo the  vinous  and  the  acetous  fermentation  ;  by 
which  processes,  the  saccharine  quality  of  the  juice 
being  destroyed,  sugar  can  no  longer  be  extracted. 
From  the  quantity  of  saccharine  matter  in  the  juice 
of  this  maple,  there  is  no  doubt  that  it  could  be  fer- 
mented into   wine,   and  that  a  spirit  could  be  dis- 
tilled from  it.     There  is  saccharine  matter  in  the  sap 
of  the  common  maple,  but  it  does  not  granulate  well, 
and  would  not  repay  the  expense  of  extraction. 

LIME  OR  LINDEN. 

Of  the  Lime  Tree  ( Tilia}  there  are  ten  species, 
six  of  which  are  natives  of  Europe — the  others  being 
Americans;  though  they  have  been  all  introduced 
as  objects  of  curiosity. 

Of  the  European  Lime  ( Tilia  Europcea)  there  are 
six  varieties;  but  the  most  valuable,  and  the  one 
which  is  most  frequently  met  with,  is  the  Common 


120          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 


Lime — Tilia  Europaa. 

Lime  Tree  (communis).  It  is  an  exceedingly  beauti- 
ful tree,  grows  fast,  and  attains  a  very  great  size.  It 
is  not  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  England,  but 
mention  is  made  of  its  growing  here,  as  early  as 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  In  Switzer- 
land and  Germany  there  are  lime  trees  of  an  enor- 
mous size  ;  and  one,  in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  is 
mentioned  by  Sir  Thomas  Brown  as  being  ninety 
feet  high,  with  a  trunk  forty-eight  feet  in  circum- 
ference, at  a  foot  and  a  half  from  the  ground. 

The  lime  bears  the  smoke  of  cities  better  than  any 
other  tall-growing  forest  tree ;  and  for  this  reason  the 
shaded  walks  about  the  cities  on  the  Continent,  more 
especially  in  Germany,  are  planted  with  it.  It  has 
other  advantages:  the  trunk  is  smooth;  the  leaves 
are  of  a  most  beautifully  delicate  green;  the  flowers 
throw  out  a  very  agreeable  fragrance;  and  it  is  not 
so  liable  to  get  unsightly,  from  wounds  and  decayed 
branches,  as  almost  any  other  tree.  But  its  leaves 
come  late  in  the  spring,  and  they  begin  to  fall  early, 
— as  early  sometimes  as  the  month  of  July. 

Though  a  soft  and  weak  timber,  the  lime  is  valu- 


THE    LIME.  121 

able  for  many  purposes.  It  is  delicately  white,  and 
of  an  uniform  colour,  and  therefore  it  is  admirably 
adapted  for  all  light  works  that  are  to  be  partially 
painted,  and  then  varnished.  Though  it  is  very 
close  in  the  gram,  it  blunts  the  tool  less  than  any 
other  timber;  and  as  it  has  the  same  property  as 
maple,  of  not  warping,  and  even  in  a  higher  degree,  it 
is  used  for  cutting-boards  and  for  the  keys  of  musical 
instruments.  It  also  stands  the  tool  well,  and  is 
called,  by  way  of  eminence,  "the  carver's  tree,"  being 
used  by  the  carvers  and  gilders  for  most  parts  of  their 
wooden  ornaments.  At  iron  foundries,  the  ornaments 
for  the  fronts  of  stoves  and  other  purposes  are  all  first 
,  cut  in  lime-tree,  and  some  of  them  are  moulded  from 
the  carving,  though  casts  be  more  generally  taken  in 
lead,  as  being  more  durable,  and  admitting  of  a 
smoother  surface.  The  exquisite  carvings  with  which 
Grindling  Gibbons  ornamented  so  many  of  the 
churches  and  palaces  in  England,  in  the  time  of 
Charles  II.,  are  all  executed  in  lime-tree.  Lime, 
though  softer  and  more  easily  cut  than  beech  or 
maple,  is  not  so  much  affected  either  by  the  worm 
or  by  rot. 

The  bark  of  the  lime-tree  is  an  article  of  commerce. 
As  the  trunk  of  the  tree  is  tall  and  free  from  knots, 
the  bark  may  be  stripped  off  in  long  pieces.  These  are 
macerated  in  water  till  the  fibrous  layers  separate ;  and 
are  then  divided  into  narrow  slips,  called  bast,  which, 
in  the  northern  parts  of  Europe,  are  plaited  into  ropes, 
and  worked  into  mats.  The  mats  in  which  flax  and 
hemp  are  imported  from  the  Baltic,  and  which,  in  this 
country,  are  in  constant  use  by  gardeners  for  covering 
plants  from  the  weather,  and  tying  them  up,  and 
also  for  market  and  tool  baskets,  are  made  of  bast, 
or  the  bark  of  the  lime  tree.  Though  the  lime  be  not 
so  great  a  favourite  in  this  country  as  it  was  in  former 
times,  it  may  very  fairly  be  doubted  whether  the  pop- 

VOL.    II.  11 


122          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

lars,  and  other  soft,  fast-growing  trees  that  have  been 
substituted  for  it,  are  a  change  for  the  better.  The 
lime  is  not  a  tree  for  bleak  and  cold  lands.  It  thrives 
best  in  rich  loam,  and  in  warm  and  rather  moist  situa- 
tions; and  though  the  average  age  to  which  it  will 
grow  has  not  been  accurately  determined,  yet,  from 
the  healthy  nature  of  the  tree,  and  the  great  size  that 
it  has  arrived  at,  it  must  be  considerable — upwards 
of  a  hundred  years. 

HORSE  CHESNUT. 


Horse  Chesnut—JEsculus  hippocnstanum. 

The  Common  Horse  Chesnut  (JEsculus  hippocasta- 
num)  is  a  natjve  of  the  northern  or  central  parts  of 
Asia,  from  which  it  was  introduced  into  Europe  about 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century.  Its  progress  can 
be  traced  from  parts  of  Northern  Asia  to  Constan- 
tinople, thence  to  Vienna,  and  thence  to  Paris,  where 
the  first  tree  was  planted  in  1 6 1 5.  It  is  very  beautiful 
in  the  arrangement  of  its  branches,  which  give  it  the 
form  of  a  paraboloid;  in  the  shape  of  its  leaves;  and  in 


THE    HORSE    CHESNUT.  123 

its  pyramids  of  large  white  flowers,  delicately  marked 
with  red  and  yellow.  It  grows  very  rapidly,  and  to  a 
great  height;  but  the  timber  is  soft,  spongy,  and  not 
durable,  and  therefore  of  little  value.  It  is  white, 
but  every  way  inferior  to  the  lime,  as  it  does  not  stand 
the  tool,  and  almost  any  thing  will  scratch  it.  It  has 
sometimes  been  used  by  the  turner,  and  also  for 
pipes;  but  though  it  is  cheap,  the  advantage  of 
using  it  is  very  questionable.  As  it  requires  a 
good  soil,  it  is  not  worth  cultivating  but  as  an 
ornamental  tree.  The  Turks  are  said  to  grind  the 
nuts,  and  mix  them  with  the  food  of  their  horses 
(whence  the  common  name):  they  devour  them 
with  avidity,  and  they  are  stated  to  be  eaten  whole  by 
sheep  and  by  poultry  when  boiled;  but  hogs  refuse 
them  both  raw  and  prepared.  The  bark  of  the  horse- 
chesnut  has  been  employed  with  some  success  in  dye- 
ing yellow.  The  leaves  drop  off  early  in  the  season, 
and  then  the  appearance  of  the  tree  is  rather  un- 
sightly. 

POPLAR. 

Of  the  Poplar  (Populus)  there  are  about  fifteen 
species  described;  but  it  is  necessary  to  mention 
only  two  as  timber  trees :  the  white  poplar,  or  spread- 
ing poplar  (Populus  canescens) ;  and  the  Lombardy 
poplar,  or  poplar  of  the  valley  of  the  Po  (Populus 
dilatata),  which  is  spire-shaped,  has  its  branches  at 
very  small  angles  with  the  trunk,  and  runs  up  to  a 
great  height.  The  abele  tree  (Populus -alba)  is  dis- 
tinguished by  its  broad  leaves.  All  the  poplars  are 
fond  of  moisture,  and  may  be  planted  near  marshy 
places,  where  few  other  trees,  save  the  alder,  will  grow. 

The  small-leaved  white  poplar  is  a  native  of  most 
parts  of  Europe ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  large- 
leaved  one,  the  abele,  be  a  native  of  England, — at 
all  events,  the  plants  of  it  were  obtained  chiefly  from 


124 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


Flanders  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  poplar 
grows  very  rapidly.  In  favourable  situations  it  will 
make  shoots  three  inches  in  diameter,  and  sixteen  feet 
long,  in  the  course  of  a  single  season.  The  loppings 
of  the  poplar  are  not  very  inflammable,  and  thus  they 
are  superior  to  those  of  the  elm,  and  many  other 
trees,  for  heating  ovens,  and  for  other  purposes  in 
which  the  loppings  of  trees  are  used. 


WKitt  Poplm — Popultu  caneicens. 


The  wood  of  the  poplar  is  soft,  and  it  is  far  from 
durable;  but  it  is  not  apt  either  to  swell  and  shrink, 
or  to  warp,  and  it  is  very  light,  so  that  it  is  em- 
ployed for  butchers'  trays,  hogs'  troughs,  and  other 
articles,  in  which  lightness  and  cheapness  are  pre- 
ferred to  durability.  It  is  possible,  in  consequence 
of  the  rapidity  with  which  the  poplar  grows,  and  the 
ease  with  which  it  can  be  worked,  that,  on  the  spot 
where  it  is  produced,  it  may  be  more  economical  for 
common  household  purposes,  and  for  casks  and 
packages  for  dry  goods,  than  more  durable  timber. 
It  is  a  tree  largely  cultivated  by  the  Dutch,  being 
well  adapted  to  their  moist  soil  and  climate.  On  the 


THE    POPLAR.  125 

Continent  a  species  of  poplar  is  manufactured  into 
thin  slices,  called  sparterie,  which  is  made  up  into 
ladies'  bonnets.  The  seeds  of  the  white  poplar,  also, 
are  surrounded  with  a  sort  of  cotton,  of  which  it  has 
been  attempted  to  manufacture  paper  and  even  cloth. 
Pallas,  in  his  travels,  attempted  to  show  that  the 
cotton  of  the  Populus  alba  was  as  valuable  as  that  of 
America;  but  no  experiments  upon  it  have  yet  been 
.successful. 

In  Holland,  the  black  poplar  is  also  much  culti- 
vated. It  grows  rapidly,  is  cut  down  at  about  twenty- 
four  years  old,  and  made  into  wooden  shoes,  and 
other  articles.  .  The  timber  is  of  nearly  the  same 
quality  as  that  of  the  white  poplar,  perhaps  a  little 
better;  and  it  is  used  for  almost  the  same  purposes. 

The  trembling  poplar,  or  aspen,  is  singular  on  ac- 
count of  the  agitation  of  its  leaves  by  the  slightest 
breeze  that  can  stir.  It  is  very  generally  diffused, 
and  the  timber  of  it,  though  it  does  not  attain  quite 
the  same  size,  is  applied  to  the  same  purposes. 

The  leaves  of  almost  all  the  poplars  are  of  a  pale  or 
silver  colour  on  the  under  sides,  and  the  twigs  are 
flexible,  which  gives  them  an  agreeable  variegation  of 
colour  when  agitated  by  the  wind.  The  susceptibility 
of  motion  is  one  of  the  accidental  beauties  of  trees; 
and  the  motion  of  the  poplar  is  peculiarly  graceful, 
for  it  waves  in  one  simple  sweep  from  the  top  to  the 
bottom,  and  the  least  breath  of  wind  stirs  it,  when 
other  trees  are  at  rest. 

The  Lombardy  poplar  grows  rapidly,  and  shoots  in 
a  compact  spire  to  a  great  height.  It  is  not  so  hardy 
as  the  others;  but  when  planted  in  a  favourable  soil, 
it  will  grow  at  the  rate  of  four  or  five  feet  in  height 
annually. 

The  timber  of  the  Lombardy  poplar  is  even  worse 
than  that  of  the  other  poplars;  but  for  temporary 
purposes  the  rapidity  of  its  growth  is  some  compen- 

VOL.     II.  11* 


126          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 


Liombardy  Poplar — Populus  dilatata. 

sation.  It  is,  perhaps,  the  lightest  of  timber,  and, 
therefore,  well  calculated  for  packing-cases;  and 
though  soft,  it  will  bear  some  strain  without  break- 
ing. The  vessels  in  which  the  people  of  Lombardy 
carry  and  squeeze  their  grapes  are  all  made  of  this 
poplar;  and  they  also  frequently  train  their  vines 
to  the  tree.  In  England  it  is  chiefly  used  as  an 
ornamental  tree.  The  Lombardy  poplar  is,  so  far  as 
has  been  observed,  the  only  spiry  tree  that  is  deci- 
duous, or  sheds  its  leaves:  the  tree  which  it  most 
nearly  resembles  in  its  form,  though  not  in  its  foliage, 
is  the  cypress. 

WILLOW,  &c. 

Of  the  willow,  called  Salix,  from  the  Latin  word 
which  signifies  "  to  spring  up,"  and  so  denominated 
on  account  of  the  great  rapidity  of  its  growth,  there 
are  many  species, — of  which  not  fewer  than  one 
hundred  and  forty-one  have  been  enumerated  by  Sir 
James  Smith.  Some  of  these,  however,  very  much 
resemble  each  other,  so  that  the  species  of  willows  are 
not  so  well  defined  as  those  of  some  other  trees.  •  Of 
this  great  number,  it  will  be  necessary  to  mention 


THE    WILLOW,    ETC. 


127 


only  four — two,  which  are  chiefly  used  in  the  manu- 
facture of  baskets,  one  which  is  a  timber  tree,  and 
another  which  is  used  principally  as  an  ornament. 

The  basket-making  willows — at  least,  those  most 
generally  and  frequently  used  for  that  purpose  (for 
baskets  may  be  made  of  the  twigs  of  many  others) — 
are  the  Osier  ( Salix  mminalis) ;  and  the  Yellow 
Willoiu  (Salix  mtellina);  the  timber-tree  is  the 
White  Willow  (Salix  alba);  and  the  ornamental 
one,  the  Weeping  Willow  (Salix  Babylonica). 


Osier— Snlix  viminalis. 

The  osier  is  a  native  of  most  parts  of  Europe,  and 
grows  spontaneously  in  fenny  places.  » When  allowed, 
it  becomes  a  small  tree,  but  it  is  generally  cut  down 
for  basket-work.  The  osier  grows  very  rapidly;  and 
is  used  only  for  the  coarser  basket-work,  unless  when 
split  into  pieces.  On  the  banks  of  large  rivers,  osier 
beds  may  be  planted  with  great  advantage;  and  the 
osier  will  also  thrive  in  dry  situations  if  the  soil  be 
good.  Cuttings  of  osiers  take  root  very  readily,  and 


128 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


it  is  not  of  much  consequence  which  end  of  them  be 
put  into  the  ground.  They  are  of  great  use  in  giving 
consistency  to  banks  and  embankments,  which  are  in 
danger  of  being  washed  away.  There  are  many 
osier-beds  in  the  Thames,  which  are  generally  cut 
about  once  in  three  years,  and  are  very  profitable  to 
their  proprietors. 

The  shoots  of  the  yellow  willow  are  much  more 
slender  than  those  of  the  osier :  they  are  very  tough ; 
and  on  that  account-  they  are  well  adapted  for  the 
finer  kinds  of  basket-work. 

In  common  language,  osier  is  used  for  almost  any 
willow-tree,  while  of  that  which  botanists  call  the  osier 
there  are  many  varieties. 


White  Willow- Salix  alba. 


The  white  arborescent  willow  grows  to  a  large  size 
by  the  sides  of  rivers;  and  when  the  wind  agitates  its 
twigs,  and  turns  up  the  silvery  sides  of  its  leaves,  it 
has  a  fine  appearance.  It  is  a  native  of  most  parts 
of  Europe. 

The  weeping  willow  is  a  native  of  the  Levant;  but 


THE    WILLOW,    ETC. 


129 


Salix  babylonica. 

it  thrives  very  well  in  England,  if  the  situation  be 
not  too  cold  for  it,  and  if  it  be  near  water.  It  runs 
to  a  considerable  height,  and  no  tree  can  be  more 
graceful  on  the  margin  of  a  lake  or  stream.  The 
twigs,  which  hang  down  so  beautifully,  are  tough,  as 
well  as  long  and  slender;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  they  would  answer  well  for  basket-making;  but 
this  tree  is  chiefly  introduced  on  account  of  the  beauty 
of  its  appearance.  It  has  been  said,  that  the  first 
willow  was  planted  in  England  by  the  celebrated 
Alexander  Pope.  According  to  the  account  of  this 
circumstance,  the  poet  having  received  a  present  of 
figs  from  Turkey,  observed  a  twig  of  the  basket  in 
which  they  were  packed  putting  out  a  shoot.  He 
planted  this  twig  in  his  garden,  and  it  soon  became 
a  fine  tree ;  from  which  stock  all  the  weeping-willows 
in  England  have  sprung.  This  tree,  so  remarkable 
on  every  account,  was  cut  down  a  few  years  ago. 
The  willow  has  not  only  been  noticed,  but  employed 


130         VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

in  basket-work  in  this  country  from  a  very  early  period, 
and  there  is  some  probability  that  the  Britons  taught 
the  art  to  the  Romans — at  least,  from  the  mention  of  a 
basket  brought  to  Rome  by  painted  Britons,  in  Mar- 
tial, we  should  be  led  to  infer  that  baskets  of  British 
manufacture  were  esteemed  in  the  capital  of  the 
world. 

The  timber  of  the  willow  is  applicable  to  many 
purposes  similar  to  those  in  which  the  poplar  is  em- 
ployed, and  in  toughness  it  is  far  superior.  The  an- 
cient Britons  sometimes  made  their  boats  of  basket- 
work  of  willow,  and  covered  them  with'the  skins  of 
animals:  they  were  remarkably  light  and  buoyant. 
Willow  bark  may  be  used  in  tanning  and  in  dyeing. 

The  willow  is  used  extensively  in  the  manufacture 
of  charcoal ;  and  it  has  been  found  to  be  superior  to 
most  other  woods  in  producing  charcoal  for  gun- 
powder^ A  good  deal  depends,  however,  upon  the 
manufacture.  In  the  ordinary  modes  of  making 
charcoal,  by  building  the  wood  up  in  a  pyramidal 
form,  covering  the  pile  with  clay  or  earth,  and  leaving 
a  few  air  holes,  which  are  closed  as  soon  as  the  mass 
is  well  lighted,  combustion  is  imperfectly  performed. 
For  charcoal  to  be  used  in  the  manufacture  of  gun- 
powder, the  wood  should  be  ignited  in  iron  cylinders, 
so  that  every  portion  of  vinegar  and  tar  which  it  pro- 
duces should  be  suffered  to  escape.  In  India,  char- 
coal is  manufactured  by  a  particular  caste,  who  dwell 
entirely  in  the  woods,  and  have  neither  intermarriage 
nor  intercourse  with  the  Hindoo  inhabitants  of  the 
open  country.  They  bring  down  their  loads  of  char- 
coal to  particular  spots,  whence  it  is  carried  away  by 
the  latter  people,  who  deposit  rice,  clothing,  and  iron 
tools,  a  payment  settled  by  custom.  The  benevolent 
Bishop  Heber  wished  to  mitigate  the  condition  of 
these  unfortunate  people,  but  he  found  that  he  could 
not  break  through  the  Hindoo  prejudice  against  them. 


THE    WILLOW.    ETC. 


131 


Evelyn,  in  his  Sylva,  fears  that  the  progress  of  our 
iron  manufacture  would  lead  to  the  destruction  of  all 
our  timber,  in  the  preparation  of  charcoal  for  fur- 
naces. He  did  not  foresee  that  we  should  find  a 
substitute,  by  charring  pit-coal  into  coke.  In  .1788, 
there  were  eighty-six  iron  furnaces  in  England,  of 
which  twenty-six  were  heated  by  charcoal  of  wood;  in 
1826,  there  were  three  hundred  and  five,  all  served 
by  coke. 

Good  charcoal  is  also  made  from  Dog  Wood  ( Cor- 
nus  sanguined],  which  is,  however,  a  tree,  or  rather 
a  shrub,  very  different  from  the  willow  in  its  appear- 
ance and  habits.  The  Dogwood  is  firm  and  compact; 
grows  naturally  in  hedges  upon  chalky  soils,  and  bears 
berries  that  have  a  purple  juice,  out  of  which  a  red 
colouring  matter  of  considerable  brightness  may  be 
extracted.  It  is  very  common  in  Kent  and  Sussex; 
and  as  there  are  many  powder-mills  there,  coppices 
of  it  are  reared  for  supplying  them  with  charcoal. 


Hazel — Corylus  avellana. 


Another  shrub  which  is  applied  to  the  same  uses  as 
the  willow,  namely,  making  baskets  and  hoops,  but 
chiefly  the  latter,  is  the  Hazel  ( Corylus  avellana) .  Of 


132  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

that  there  are  several  varieties,  the  principal  of  which 
are  the  common  hazel,  and  the  filbert.  The  first  is  a 
native  of  every  part  of  Britain,  the  shells  of  the"  nuts 
being  found  in  the  bogs  even  in  the  coldest  parts. 
The  filbert,  again,  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  Asia — 
to  have  been  imported  first  into  Italy,  and  thence  to  the 
rest  of  Europe.  The  filbert  grows  more  upright,  is 
more  tree  like,  and  bears  larger  and  better  flavoured 
nuts  than  the  hazel ;  but  the  wood  of  the  hazel  is  the 
tougher,  and  the  better  adapted  for  hoops,  though 
both  make  excellent  charcoal.  There  is  an  American 
species  ;  and  there  is  also  one  growing  in  the  vicinity 
of  Constantinople,  which  bears  a  nut  nearly  double 
the  size  of  the  filbert.  More  than  a  hundred  thou- 
sand bushels  of  foreign  nuts  are  annually  consumed 
in  this  country. 

LABURNUM. 

The  Laburnum  (  Cytisus}  does  not  appear  to  be  so 
much  cultivated  in  England,  as  a  timber  tree,  as  its 
merits  deserve.  There  are  about  thirty  species  of  the 
Cytisus,  properly  so  called,  but  the  common  laburnum 
is  the  one  which  is  most  valuable. 

In  England  the  laburnum  is  principally  cultivated 
as  an  ornamental  shrub,  and  when  in  bloom  its  nume- 
rous and  long  branches  of  yellow  flowers  have  a  very 
shewy  appearance.  Laburnum  is,  however,  exceed- 
ingly useful  as  a  tree;  and  wherever  very  hard  and 
compact  timber  is  required  in  small  pieces,  there  are 
few  superior  to  it.  The  Romans  reckoned  it  next  to 
ebony;  though  not  so  hard,  or  so  perfectly  free  from 
grain,  it  is  much  more  tough  and  elastic.  Its' 
natural  colour,  too,  is  good,  and  it  may  be  rendered 
almost  black  by  the  application  of  lime  water.  It  is 
also  a  very  hardy  tree,  and  will  grow  in  almost  any 
soil;  but  hares  and  rabbits,  which  abound  in  many 
parts  of  England,  and  are  preserved  to  the  destruc- 
tion, not  merely  of  trees,  but  of  the  grain  crops  of 


133 


Laburnum — Cytisus. 


the  farmer,  spoil  the  young  laburnums  by  gnawing 
the  bark  in  winter. 

Even  of  the  small  size  to  which  it  is  permitted  to 
grow,  laburnum  is  used  for  many  purposes, — as 
wedges,  pulleys,  pegs,  the  handles  of  knives,  and 
other  instruments. 

When  of  larger  dimensions,  no  timber  is  fitter  for 
cabinet  work  of  all  kinds.  It  takes  a  fine  polish,  it 
looks  well,  and  it  is  durable.  Chairs  made  of  it  are 
far  stronger  than  any  mahogany.  It  may,  how- 
ever, be  doubted  whether  laburnum  holds  glue  as 
well,  because  it  contains  an  oil,  which  never  dries 
out ;  and  it  is  harder  to  work  than  mahogany.  This 
oily  property  fits  it  well  for  pins  of  blocks,  and  cogs 
in  mill-work,  as  its  unctuous  nature  prevents  it  from 

VOL  n.  12 


134  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

being  abraded.  Many  of  the  purposes  for  which  it 
was  once  used  are  now  supplied  by  lignum vitae, 
which  is  a  harder  wood,  and  still  more  unctuous; 
but  lignumvitse  is  more  splintery.  For  tables  la- 
burnum wood  is  not  so  well  adapted,  being  seldom 
of  sufficient  breadth  for  a  fold,  and  not  standing  well 
when  glued;  but  for  pillars,  bed-posts,  feet  of  tables, 
and  all  similar  uses,  it  is  excellent. 

The  seeds  of  laburnum  have  very  powerful  medi- 
cinal effects  upon  the  human  system,  and  a  garland 
of  the  flowers,  if  worn  for  some  time,  is  said  to 
occasion  head-ache.  Some  of  the  largest  trees  that 
we  remember  to  have  seen  are  in  Athol,  by  the  way 
side  between  Dunkeld  and  Blair. 

Nearly  allied  to  the  laburnum,  though  not  of  the 
same  family,  or  growing  to  the  same  dimensions,  is 
Broom, — the  wood  of  the  Common  Broom  (  Spartium 
scoparium)  very  much  resembling  that  of  laburnum 
in  everything  but  colour.  The  wood,  when  of  suf- 
ficient size,  is  applicable  to  the  same  purposes  as 
laburnum.  For  one  purpose — pins  for  pulleys, 
it  is  superior  to  any  other  wood.  Common  broom 
is  so  hardy  that,  instead  of  requiring  any  care 
in  cultivation,  it  is  extirpated  as  a  weed.  In 
some  places,  however,  it  is  sown  close,  and  after 
two  or  three  years,  cut  for  thatching  barns  and  cot- 
tages. Though  the  brooms  be  in  general  ever- 
greens, and  the  laburnum  deciduous,  yet  some  of  the 
brooms  are  called,  indiscriminately,  Genista,  and 
Cytisus.  When  the  Scotch  snuff-boxes  were  first 
made  by  Mr.  Steven,  of  Laurencekirk,  they  were 
formed  of  the  roots  of  broom,  steeped  for  a  long 
time  in  water;  but  when  the  demand  became  great, 
and  other  persons  engaged  in  the  manufacture, 
inferior  materials  were  used,  and  the  quality  of  the 
boxes  was  deteriorated.  The  flowers  of  the  '  Dyer's 
broom'  ( Genista  tinctoria]  afford  a  bright  colouring 


THE    BROOM. 


135 


matter,  which  is  used  in  dyeing  wool  yellow,  or  pre- 
paring it  for  being  dyed  green  with  woad. 

The  Broom  of  Spain  (  Genista  juncea)  is  a  beauti- 
ful shrub,  with  very  fragrant  flowers.  In  countries 
where  the  soil  is  too  dry  for  the  growth  of  flax  and 
hemp,  the  bark  of  the  Spanish  broom  is  prepared  in 
a  peculiar  way,  and  from  the  threads  which  it  pro- 
duces very  excellent  linen  is  manufactured. 


Broom— Sp artium  *c°V arium . 


CHAPTER  VI. 

WALNUT,  MULBERRY,  MAHOGANY. 

WALNUT. 

BEFORE  the  introduction  of  mahogany,  the  walnut 
was  "  the  cabinet-maker's  tree"  in  England,  and  it 
was  well  adapted  for  the  purpose, — being  tough  and 
strong  in  proportion  to  its  weight,  beautifully  varie- 
gated, admitting  of  a  fine  polish,  durable,  and  ob- 
tained in  sizes  sufficiently  large.  In  many  parts  of 
the  continent,  where  the  expense  of  the  carriage  of 
mahogany  is  great,  the  walnut  is  still  extensively 
used  in  the  manufacture  of  furniture;  and,  perhaps, 
there  is  no  native  tree  which  bears  the  climate 
of  England  well,  that  is  better  adapted  for  the 
purpose.  Oak,  though  abundantly  durable,  cannot 
be  finely  polished  without  great  expense,  and  it  is 
heavier  in  proportion  to  its  strength. 

Of  the  Walnut-tree,  (called  by  the  Romans  Ju- 
glans,  or  the  nut  of  Jove,)  there  are  very  many 
species  enumerated,  which  have  been  divided  by 
modern  botanists  into  three  genera.  Of  these  species 
it  is  necessary  to  mention  only  two  as  timber  trees, — 
the  Common  Walnut-tree  (Juglans  regia)  and  the 
White  Walnut,  or  hickery-tree  (Juglans  alba).  The 
first  of  these  is  a  native  of  the  warmer  parts  of 
Europe,  or  perhaps  of  Asia;  and  the  last  is  a  native 
of  America. 

The  common  walnut  is  a  very  handsome  and  a 
very  useful  tree.  It  is  true  that  the  fruit  does  not 
come  to  maturity  in  the  northern  parts  of  this  island; 
and  that  in  the  southern,  nay  in  countries  much  far- 
ther south,  it  is  apt  to  be  injured  by  the  frosts  of 


THE    WALNUT.  137 

spring.     In  many  parts  of  this  country,  it  thrives  well 
as  a  tree,  and  wherever  it  thrives  it  is  valuable. 

As  is  the  case  with  all  trees  and  plants  that  have 
been  long  known,  esteemed,  and  cultivated  by  man, 
the  original  country  of  the  walnut  is  not  recorded. 
Some  are  of  opinion  that  it  is  the  "  Persian  nut" 
mentioned  by  Theophrastus ;  and  that,  therefore, 
Persia  is  the  country  from  which  it  was  first  intro- 


Walnut—Juglans  regia. 

duced  into  Europe.  It  is  found  indigenous  in  the 
more  northern  parts  of  that  country,  toward  the  moun- 
tains of  Caucasus;  sometimes,  though  more  rarely, 
in  the  Russian  territory  on  the  north  of  those  moun- 
tains ;  and  in  China.  In  all  these  situations,  it 
grows,  according  to  the  best  authorities,  in  a  state  of 
nature,  and  continues  itself  without  ^cultivation.  In 
the  east  of  France,  the  south  of  Germany,  and  Swit- 
zerland, it  is  very  abundant,  more  especially  in  Ger- 
many; in  many  parts  of  which,  such  as  the  plains  of 
the  Bergstrasse,  which  run  parallel  to  the  Rhine,  be- 
VOL.  IK  12* 


138          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

tween  the  Neckar  and  Mayn,  there  is  hardly  any  other 
timber.*  In  England  there  are  still  a  good  many  trees 
scattered  over  the  country ;  but  the  timber  is  not  so 
great  as  it  was  formerly,  the  partiality  for  the  woods 
of  the  colonies  and  other  foreign  countries  having 
diminished  the  value  of  this,  as  well  as  of  most  other 
species  of  domestic  timber  used  for  finer  purposes. 

There  is  still,  however,  one  use  to  which  the  wal- 
nut-tree is  applied,  in  preference  to  any  other  timber, 
and  this  use  demands  the  qualities  of  beauty,  durabi 
lity,  and  strength:  walnut-tree  is  employed  for  the 
stocks  of  all  manner  of  fire-arms.  Before  it  is  used, 
however,  it  should  be  well  seasoned,  or  even  baked, 
as  when  recent  it  is  very  apt  to  shrink,  a  disadvan- 
tage which  is  completely  got  rid  of  by  seasoning. 

The  walnut  grows  rapidly  till  it  attains  a  con- 
siderable size,  which  is  even  valuable  as  timber.  The 
absolute  duration  of  the  tree  has  not  been  ascertained 
with  accuracy;  but,  probably,  the  most  profitable 
age  for  cutting  it  is  the  average  of  hard-wood  trees, 
about  fifty  or  sixty  years.  The  demand  for  musket 
and  pistol  stocks  during  the  late  war  thinned  Eng- 
land of  its  walnut  trees;  and  the  deficiency  should 
be  made  up  by  fresh  planting.  At  that  period  the 
timber  was  so  much  in  demand,  that  a  fine  tree  has 
often  been  sold  for  several  hundred  pounds. 

Beside  the  value  of  its  timber,  the  walnut-tree 
hastnany  other  uses.  The  ripe  nuts  are  well  known 
as  a  fruit;  the  green  ones  make  an  agreeable  and 
wholesome  pickle;  and  the  oil  is  used  for  delicate 
colours  in  painting,  and  for  smoothing  and  polishing 
wood  work:  sometimes,  also,  for  frying  meats,  and 

*  The  spring  of  1827  was  particularly  destructive  to  the 
walnuts  of  the  Bergstrasse,  and  the  neighbouring  parts  of  Ger- 
many, where  the  walnut  is  extensively  cultivated  for  the  oil. 
Many  thousand  trees  were  killed,  and  nearly  all  the  branches 
of  the  rest  were  destroyed. 


THE    WALNUT.  139 

for  burning  in  lamps.  When  the  leaves  and  recent 
husks,  in  their  green  state,  are  macerated  in  warm 
water,  the  extract,  which  is  bitter  and  astringent,  is 
used  to  destroy  insects;  and  it  is  a  very  permanent 
dye,  imparting  to  wool,  hair,  or  the  skin  and  nails  of 
the  living  body,  a  dingy  greenish  yellow,  which  cannot 
be  obliterated  without  a  great  deal  of  labour.  On 
this  latter  account,  it  is  said  to  have  been  used  by 
gypsies,  in  staining  the  complexions  of  stolen  chil- 
dren, that  they  may  appear  to  be  their  own  offspring. 
The  quantity  of  oil  in  fresh  walnuts  is  very  consider- 
able, being  about  equal  to  half  the  weight  of  the 
kernels. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  the  common  walnut, 
— as  the  thick  shelled,  which  afford  the  best  timber; 
and  the  thin  shelled,  which  have  most  fruit,  and  yield 
most  oil.  These,  however,  are  mere  varieties;  for, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  oak,  and  many  other  trees,  in 
which  we  find  a  variation  in  the  colour  and  shape  of 
the  leaves,  and  in  the  fruit,  all  the  varieties  may  be 
obtained  by  sowing  the  nuts  of  the  same  tree. 

In  cultivated  vegetables,  indeed,  there  is  a  con- 
fusion of  varieties  which  is  not  met  with  in  animals. 
The  animal  mules,  whether  quadruped, — as  between 
the  horse,  and  the  ass  or  the  zebra, — or  birds,  as 
the  cross  of  the  goldfinch  and  canary-bird, — are 
all  barren  :  but  the  new  varieties  of  plants,  though 
apparently  accidental,  are  generally  productive;  and 
thus,  by  the  seeds  alone,  varieties  may  be  produced 
almost  without  end.  Many  trees  of  more  full  growth, 
in  which  forced  cultivation  has  destroyed  the  faculty 
of  perfecting  seeds,  may  be  propagated  by  cuttings 
or  layers. 

The  form  which  the  branches  of  the  walnut-tree 
assume  is  generally  beautiful.  In  May,  the  warm 
hue  of  its  foliage  makes  a  pleasing  contrast  with 
other  trees;  but  it  opens  its  leaves  late  and  drops 
them  early. 


140  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

The  white  walnut,  or  Hickery,  is  a  native  of  North 
America,  where  it  grows  to  be  a  timber  tree  of  con- 
siderable dimensions.  The  nut  is  rather  smaller 
than  that  of  the  common  walnut;  it  is  lighter  hi  the 
colour,  and  not  furrowed  in  the  shell.  The  kernel 
is  edible,  and  yields  an  oil  similar  to  that  of  the 
walnut. 

One  part  of  the  wood  is  more  porous  than  that  of 
the  walnut,  but  the  other  is  more  compact:  this  gives 
the  grain  of  the  wood  something  the  appearance  of 
that  of  ash;  and  where  it  abounds,  it  is  used  for 
similar  purposes, — the  small  shoots  for  hoops,  and 
the  grown  trees  for  agricultural  instruments.  Hickery 
is  very  tough  and  elastic;  and  therefore  it  answers 
remarkably  well  for  fishing  rods,  the  shafts  and  poles 
of  carriages,  and  other  purposes  where  a  slender  sub- 
stance of  timber  has  to  resist  sudden  jerks  or  strains. 

In  favourable  situations,  the  hickery  grows  well 
in  England;  the  specimens  in  the  arboretum  of  the 
Royal  Botanical  Garden  at  Kew  are  of  great  size  for 
their  age,  and  very  handsome  trees.  The  trunk 
rises  to  a  considerable  height,  of  nearly  uniform  thick- 
ness, as  straight  as  a  line,  and  without  any  lateral 
branches;  and  it  is  thus  very  probable  that,  if  the 
tree  were  more  generally  cultivated,  it  would  make 
one  of  the  most  valuable  in  the  country. 

There  are  two  other  descriptions  of  foreign  trees, 
which,  though  they  belong  not  to  the  same  genus  with 
hickery,  are  applied  to  purposes  almost  similar  in 
the  arts;  and  therefore  this  is  the  proper  place  in 
which  to  notice  them.  They  are  Lance  wood,  and 
the  Hassagay  wood,  of  which  the  natives  of  Southern 
Africa  make  the  stems  of  their  spears. 

Lance  wood  (Guaiteria  virgata)  is  a  native  of 
the  island  of  Jamaica;  and  though  it  does  not  grow 
ot  a  very  great  size,  it  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most 
valuable  timber-trees  in  the  island.  No  timber  pos- 


THE    MULBERRY.  141 

sesses,  in  a  higher  degree,  the  qualities  of  toughness 
and  elasticity;  and  therefore  none  can  be  better  for 
the  shafts  of  light  carriages,  and  every  other  purpose 
where  a  small  body  and  weight  of  timber  is  required 
to  stand  a  great  strain.  The  very  best  ash,  the 
toughest  of  our  native  timber,  is  greatly  inferior  to 
lance  wood,  both  in  strength  and  elasticity;  and  in 
consequence  of  ash  being  open  and  varied  in  the  grain, 
while  lance  wood  is  close  and  uniform,  it  does  not 
carve  so  well  into  ornaments,  take  so  smooth  a  polish, 
or  admit  of  being  varnished  with  so  little  labour. 

The  Hassagay  Tree  ( Curtisia  faginea)  is  a  larger 
growing  tree  than  the  lance  wood,  being  one  of  the 
largest  timber  trees  in  Africa.  Its  leaves  resemble 
those  of  the  birch;  the  timber  is  compact,  firm,  and 
very  stiff.  It  is  not  so  much  used  in  this  country  as 
the  former. 

MULBERRY. 

The  mulberry  is  a  tree  of  singular  and  varied  uses 
to  man,  not  so  much  on  account  of  its  timber  (for 
though  the  timber  be  close  and  strong,  and  very 
durable,  the  tree  is  rather  a  slow  grower)  as  for  its 
leaves  and  its  bark,  and  the  dye  that  is  obtained  from 
the  wood  of  at  least  one  of  the  species. 

Of  the  mulberry  (Morus)  there  are  many  species; 
and  though  none  of  them  are  natives  of  England,  or 
probably  of  Europe,  some  are  sufficiently  hardy  to 
thrive  in  most,  and  bear  fruit  in  many,  parts  of  Britain. 
The  white  mulberry  (Morus  alba)  is  rather  a  deli- 
cate tree,  though  it  grows  very  well  in  Spain,  Italy, 
and  the  south  of  France.  The  berries  of  it  are  light 
coloured  and  insipid. 

The  black  mulberry  (Morus  nigra]  is  a  larger  and 
more  hardy  tree;  the  fruit  is  a  blackish  red,  and  has 
much  more  taste  than  that  of  the  other.  The  timber 
of  both  these  species  is  very  durable:  it  will  last  as 


142          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

long  in  water  as  the  best  oak;  and  the  bark  is  tough 
and  fibrous,  and  may  be  made  into  strong  and  dura- 
ble mats  and  baskets. 

The  greatest  value  of  the  mulberry-tree  in  the  arts 
consists  in  its  being  the  favourite  food  of  the  silk- 
worm. That  insect,  and  this  use  of  the  mulberry- 
tree,  were  both  unknown  to  the  Greeks  and  Romans; 
though  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  they 


Blade  Mulberry — Morus  nigra. 

were  then,  and  perhaps  earlier,  known  to  the  Chi- 
nese, and  possibly  to  some  of  the  other  inhabitants 
of  central  and  southern  Asia. 

The  rearing  of  silk-worms,  and  the  manufacture  of 
silk,  are  said  to  have  been  introduced  into  the  West- 
ern world  in  the  sixth  century  of  the  Christian  era. 
About  the  year  550,  two  monks,  natives  of  Persia, 
while  employed  as  missionaries  to  the  Christian 
churches  in  India,  are  said  to  have  penetrated  as  far 
as  China,  where  they  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the 
rearing  of  the  silk- worm,  and  the  working  of  silk. 
Upon  their  return,  they  explained  to  the  Greek  em- 
peror at  Constantinople  the  nature  and  importance 
of  those  operations,  and  undertook  to  bring  to  that 
capital  as  many  silk-worms  as  should  suffice  for  esta- 


THE    MULBERRY.  143 

Wishing  and  supplying  the  manufacture.  They  were 
immediately  sent  off,  and  soon  returned,  with  the  eggs 
of  the  silk-worm  concealed  and  preserved  in  a  hollow 
cane  :  these  eggs  were  hatched  by  the  heat  of  a 
dunghill.  The  attempt  succeeded;  the  worms  were 
fed  with  the  leaves  of  wild  mulberry  trees;  they  mul- 
tiplied rapidly;  and  the  produce  of  their  labours 
proved  to  be  as  good  silk  as  that  which  had  been 
made  in  the  East. 

The  animal  by  which  silk  is  originally  made  is  a 
species  of  moth  (Phalccna  Mori.}  When  perfect,  or 
in  the  winged  state,  it  is  of  a  whitish  colour,  with  a 
pale  brown  line  across  the  upper  wings,  and  displays 
in  itself  none  of  that  lustre  which  its  labours  pro- 
duce. The  caterpillar,  in  which  state  it  spins  the 
silk,  and  is  thence  called  the  silk- worm,  is  about 
three-quarters  of  an  inch  long,  of  a  yellowish  gray 
colour;  it  feeds  very  voraciously  on  the  leaves  of 
the  black  and  white  mulberry  tree  indiscriminately; 
and  it  will  also  feed  upon  lettuce  and  some  other 
plants.  For  about  six  weeks,  the  silk  worm  remains 
in  the  caterpillar  or  larva  state,  changing  its  skin 
four  times  during  that  period,  and  ceasing  to  feed 
for  a  short  tune  previous  to  each  change.  When 
full  grown,  it  eats  no  more,  but,  chooshlg  a  conve- 
nient place,  begins  to  envelop  itself  in  silken  fibres; 
and  it  continues  this  operation  till  it  has  spun  an 
oval  case  or  ball  of  yellowish  silk,  about  the  size  of 
a  pigeon's  egg,  in  which  it  remains  as  a  chrysalis  for 
about  fifteen  days,  at  the  end  of  which  it  gnaws 
through  the  end  of  the  silken  ball,  and  comes  out  a 
winged  moth,  to  deposit  its  eggs  for  a  fresh  genera- 
tion, and  very  soon  after  to  die. 

Those  who  cultivate  the  worm  for  silk  do  not  suffer 
it  to  reach  this  last  stage,  because  the  silken  fibre 
would  be  cut  into  small  pieces  by  the  opening  at  which 
the  moth  escapes.  When  the  whole  ouantitv  of  silk 


144  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

is  formed,  they  destroy  the   chrysalis   by  means  ot 
heat. 

Previous  to  the  time   when  the  two  missionaries 
brought  the  eggs  of  the  silk-worm  from  China,  and 
succeeded  in  obtaining  raw  silk  at  Constantinople, 
silk  was  a  very  costly  article,  the  price  in  Rome  being 
an  equal  weight  of  gold.     But  the  number  of  worms 
augmented  rapidly,  and  Greece,  more  especially  the 
Morea,  produced  an  abundant  supply.     The  conquest 
of  Constantinople  by  the  Venetians,  in  1204,  led  to 
the   introduction   of  the    article   into    Venice,  from 
which,  in  the  course  of  a  short  time,  it  extended  to 
Genoa,  and  other  parts  of  Italy.     Henry  IV.  was 
anxious  to  introduce  the  silk-worm  into  France,  and 
he  took  some  very  efficient  measures  to  advance  that 
object;   but  his  success  was  not  equal  to  his  wish. 
Colbert,  in  the  reign  of  Louis  XIV.,  was  the  first 
who  added  it  to  the  productive  wealth  of  that  country, 
upon  a  large  scale.     James  I.  was  desirous  of  intro- 
ducing it  into  England,  and  there  have  been  many 
trials  since;  but,  though  these  have  promised  to  be 
successful,  they  have  not  been  prosecuted,  probably 
because  the  culture  is  better  adapted  to  warmer  skies 
and  a  less  laborious  population.     When  the  mulberry 
is  cultivated  for  the  rearing  of  silk-worms,  it  is  not 
allowed  to  grow  to  a  timber-tree.     The  young  shoots 
are  preferred  for  that   purpose  ;    and,   therefore,   in 
China,  the  trees  are  either  cut  down  altogether  every 
third  year,  or  they  are  kept  low  by  pruning.     When 
the  leaves  of  the  mulberry  fail,  or  are  deficient,  in 
China,  those  of  the  ash  are  said  to  make  no  bad  sub- 
stitute.    Some  varieties  of  the  ash  have  certainly  this 
much  in  common  with   the   mulberry,  that  they  do 
not  expand  their  leaves  till  the  season  be  far  ad- 
vanced,— seldom  till  the  middle  of  May,  and  very 
often  not  till  the  end  of  that  month.     It   is   stated 
that  the  Chinese  dry  the  mulberry  leaves  in  the  sun, 


THE    MULBBRRV.  145 

and  keep  them  in  close-stopped  vessels,  for  the  food 
of  the  silk-worm,  if  it  he  produced  before  the  young 
leaves  of  the  tree  are  ready  for  its  support.  When 
cultivated  for  its  fruit,  the  mulberry,  unlike  most 
other  fruit-trees,  produces  fruit  in  greater  abund- 
ance and  of  larger  size  as  it  gets  older  ;  and,  as 
its  dense  and  dark  foliage  forms  a  fine  contrast  with 
trees  of  more  airy  form  and  lighter  hue,  it  is  a  very 
ornamental  tree. 

The  Paper  Mulberry  (Bronssonetia  papyrifera) ,  is 
a  native  of  China  and  Japan,  the  South  Sea  Islands, 
and  some  parts  of  America.  It  does  not  attain  a 
very  great  height,  but  it  shoots  vigorously,  and  is  a 
very  branchy  tree.  Its  fruit  is  black,  purple,  and 
sweet,  but  small — not  larger,  in  general,  than  a  com- 
mon pea. 

It  is  cultivated  in  Japan  for  the  manufacture  of 
paper;  and  from  this  circumstance  it  gets  its  spe- 
cific name.  For  this  purpose  it  is  raised  in  beds, 
as  osiers  are  cultivated  with  us  for  the  use  of  the 
basket-maker  and  the  cooper.  When  the  leaves  have 
fallen  off,  that  is,  about  the  month  of  December,  the 
shoots  are  cut  down,  divided  into  lengths  of  .about 
three  feet,  bound  into  bundles,  placed  upright  and 
close  together  in  a  copper,  and  boiled  till  the  bark  be 
completely  loosened  from  the  wood.  Should  they  be 
dry  before  being  subjected  to  boiling,  they  are  pre- 
pared for  that  operation  by  maceration  hi  water  for 
twenty-four  hours.  After  the  rods  are  cold,  the  bark 
is  divided  lengthwise  by  a  knife,  stripped  off,  and 
dried  for  use.  When  to  be  used,  it  is  put  into  water 
till  it  is  so  much  soaked  that  the  external  and 
coloured  part  of  the  bark  can  be  separated.  That 
being  done,  the  bark  is  sorted,  the  strongest  being  set 
apart  for  the  best  and  whitest  paper,  and  the  weaker 
for  that  of  inferior  quality;  while  of  the  refuse  they 
make  a  very  coarse  brown  paper.  The  sorted  bark  is 

VOL.   II.  13 


146  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

then  boiled  till  it  becomes  tender,  that  is,  till  it  easily 
separates  with  the  fingers;  and  then  it  is  washed  for 
a  longer  or  shorter  time,  according  to  the  quality  of 
paper  wanted.  If  strong  writing  paper,  the  washing 
must  be  moderate;  but  if  the  colour  is  to  be  very 
delicate,  and  the  texture  soft  and  silky,  the  washing 
must  be  more  prolonged.  When  properly  washed,  it 
is  taken  to  a  table,  and  there  reduced  to  a  pulp,  by 
beating  with  wooden  mallets.  When  sufficiently  re- 
duced, it  is  brought  to  the  requisite  consistency  with 
water;  rice-starch,  and  the  mucilaginous  infusion  of 
manihot-root  (Hibiscus  manihot),  are  added  by  way 
of  size;  and  then  the  sheets  of  paper  are  formed  one 
by  one  upon  a  table,  collected  into  heaps,  and  pressed 
by  a  weight. 

The  same  bark  is  used  by  the  people  of  many  of  the 
South  Sea  Islands  in  the  manufacture  of  their  finer 
cloths,  more  especially  those  that  are  to  be  dyed. 
They  make  a  coarser  but  stronger  cloth  of  the  bark 
of  the  bread-fruit  tree,  and  also  of  that  of  another 
tree  resembling  the  wild-fig  of  the  West  Indies. 
The  paper  mulberry  will  grow  in  England,  but  the 
cultivation  of  it  would  not,  probably,  be  attended 
with  much  profit.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however, 
that  if  proper  attention  were  paid  to  the  subject,  ex- 
cellent paper  might  be  made  of  the  inner  bark  of 
many  of  our  native  timbers,  the  bark  of  which  is 
now  used  merely  for  fuel,  or  thrown  away. 

The  fustic  mulberry  (Moms  tinctoria)  is  a  na- 
tive of  many  parts  of  South  America  (especially 
Brazil)  and  the  West  India  Islands.  It  grows  to  be 
a  very  large  and  handsome  tree;  and  the  timber, 
though  like  most  other  dye-woods,  brittle,  or  at  least 
easily  splintered,  is  hard  and  strong.  It  is,  how- 
ever, chiefly  used  as  an  ingredient  in  dyeing  yellow; 
and  a  great  deal  of  it  is  imported  into  Europe  for 
that  purpose  under  the  name  of  fustic. 


MAHOGAXY.  147 

MAHOGANY. 

Though  the  Mahogany  is  a  native  of  too  warm 
a  climate  to  allow  of  its  cultivation  as  a  timber-tree 
in  this  country,  yet  it  is  applied  to  so  many  uses, 
and  is  so  well  adapted  for  most  of  them,  that  some 
notice  of  it  is  required. 

There  are  three  species  of  mahogany: — Common 
mahogany  (Swietenia  mahagom),  Swietenia  febri- 
fuga,  and  Swietenia  chloroxijlon :  the  first  being  a 
native  of  the  West  India  Islands  and  the  central 
parts  of  America,  and  the  second  and  third  natives 
of  the  East  Indies.  They  all  grow  to  be  trees  of 
considerable  magnitude — the  first  and  second  being 
among  the  largest  trees  known.  They  are  all  ex- 
cellent timber. 

Swietenia  mahagoni  is,  perhaps,  the  most  majestic 
of  trees;  for  though  some  rise  to  a  greater  height,  this 
tree,  like  the  oak  and  the  cedar,  impresses  the  spectator 
with  the  strongest  feelings  of  its  firmness  and  duration. 
In  the  rich  valleys  among  the  mountains  of  Cuba, 
and  those  that  open  upon  the  bay  of  Honduras,  the 
mahogany  expands  to  so  giant  a  trunk,  divides  into  so 
many  massy  arms,  and  throws  the  shade  of  its  shin- 
ing green  leaves,  spotted  with  tufts  of  pearly  flowers, 
over  so  vast  an  extent  of  surface,  that  it  is  difficult  to 
imagine  a  vegetable  production  combining  in  such 
a  degree  the  qualities  of  elegance  and  strength,  of 
beauty  and  sublimity.  The  precise  period  of  its 
growth  is  not  accurately  known;  but  as,  when  large, 
it  changes  but  little  during  the  life  of  a  man,  the  time 
of  its  arriving  at  maturity  is  probably  not  less  than 
two  hundred  years.  Some  idea  of  its  size,  and  also  of 
its  commercial  value,  may  be  formed  from  the  fact 
that  a  single  log,  imported  at  Liverpool,  weighed 
nearly  seven  tons;  was,  in  the  first  instance,  sold  for 
3181. ;  resold  for  525Z.;  and  would,  had  the  dealers 


148  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

been  certain  of  its  quality,  have  been  worth  WOOL 
Mahogany  of  remarkable  fineness  is  very  costly,  as 
we  shall  shew  when  we  come  to  speak  of  fancy-woods. 

As  is  the  case  with  much  other  timber,  the  finest 
mahogany  trees,  both  for  size  and  quality,  are  not  in 
the  most  accessible  situations;  and  as  it  is  always 
imported  in  large  masses,  the  transportation  of  it  for 
any  distance  overland  is  so  difficult,  that  the  very  best 
trees,  both  on  the  islands  and  on  the  main  land — 
those  that  grow  in  the  rich  inland  vallies — defy  the 
means  of  removal  possessed  by  the  natives.  Masses 
of  from  six  to  eight  tons  are  not  very  easily  moved  in 
any  country;  and  in  the  mountainous  and  rocky  one, 
where  much  attention  is  not  paid  to  mechanical 
power,  to  move  them  is  impossible.  In  Cuba,  the 
inhabitants  have  neither  enterprise  nor  skill  adequate 
to  felling  the  mahogany  trees,  and  transporting  them 
to  the  shore;  and  thus  the  finest  timber  remains 
unused. 

The  discovery  of  this  beautiful  timber  was  accidental, 
and  its  introduction  into  notice  was  slow.  The  first 
mention  of  it  is  that  it  was  used  in  the  repair  of  some 
of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  ships,  at  Trinidad,  in  1597. 
Its  finely  variegated  tints  were  admired;  but  in  that 
age  the  dream  of  El  Dorado  caused  matters  of  more 
"value  to  be  neglected.  The  first  that  was  brought  to 
England  was  about  the  beginning  of  last  century; 
a  few  planks  having  been  sent  to  Dr.  Gibbons,  of 
London,  by  a  brother  who  was  a  West  India  cap- 
tain. The  Doctor  was  erecting  a  house  in  King- 
street,  Covent  Garden,  and  gave  the  planks  to  the 
workmen,  who  rejected  it  as  being  too  hard.  The  Doc- 
tor's cabinet-maker,  named  Wollaston,  was  employed 
to  make  a  candle-bo?  of  it,  and  as  he  was  sawing  up 
the  plank  he  also  complained  of  the  hardness  of  the 
timber.  But  when  the  candle-box  was  finished,  it  out- 
shone hi  beauty  all  the  Doctor's  other  furniture,  and 


MAHOGANY.  149 

became  an  object  of  curiosity  and  exhibition.  The 
wood  was  then  taken  into  favour:  Dr.  Gibbons  had 
a  bureau  made  of  it,  and  the  Duchess  of  Bucking- 
ham another;  and  the  despised  mahogany  now  be- 
came a  prominent  article  of  luxury,  and  at  the  same 
time  raised  the  fortunes  of  the  cabinet-maker  by  whom 
it  had  been  at  first  so  little  regarded. 


Mahogany — Swietenia  mahagoni. 

The  mahogany-tree  is  found  in  great  quantities  on 
the  low  and  woody  lands,  and  even  upon  the  rocks 
in  the  countries  on  the  western  shores  of  the  Carib- 
bean J  sea,  about  Honduras  and  Campeachy.  It  is 
also  abundant  in  the  Islands  of  Cuba  and  Hayti, 
and  it  used  to  be  plentiful  in  Jamaica,  where  it 
was  of  excellent  quality;  but  most  of  the  larger  trees 
have  been  cut  down.  It  was  formerly  abundant 
on  the  Bahamas,  where  it  grew,  on  the  rocks, 
to  a  great  height,  and  four  feet  in  diameter.  In  the 
earliest  periods  it  was  much  used  by  the  Spaniards 
in  ship-building.  When  first  introduced  by  them  it 
was  very  dark  and  hard,  and  without  much  of  that 

VOL.  n.  13* 


150          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

beautiful  variety  of  colour  which  now  renders  it 
superior  to  all  other  timber  for  cabinet-work;  but  it 
was  more  durable,  and  took  a  higher  polish  with  less 
labour.  Of  course  it  was  wholly  unknown  to  the 
ancients.  It  was  first  introduced  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  but  it  was  not  generally  used  in  England 
till  the  eighteenth. 

The  mahogany  is  a  graceful  tree,  with  many 
branches  that  form  a  very  handsome  head.  The 
leafets  are  in  pairs,  mostly  four,  and  sometimes 
three,  but  very  rarely  five;  the  pair  opposite,  and 
without  any  odd  leafet  at  the  point;  they  are  smooth 
and  shining,  lance-shaped,  entire  at  the  edges  like 
those  of  the  laurel,  and  bent  back;  each  leafet  is 
about  two  inches  and  a  half  long,  and  the  whole 
leaf  is  about  eight  inches.  The  flowers  are  small 
and  whitish,  and  the  seed-vessel  has  some  resem- 
blance to  that  of  the  Barbadoes  cedar:  hence  some 
botanists  have  given  the  name  of  cedar  to  the  tree. 

This  tree  so  far  corresponds  with  the  pine  tribe, 
that  the  timber  is  best  upon  the  coldest  soils  and 
in  the  most  exposed  situations.  When  it  grows 
upon  moist  soils  and  warm  lands,  it  is  soft,  coarse, 
spongy,  and  contains  sap-wood,  into  which  some 
worms  will  eat.  That  which  is  most  accessible  at 
Honduras  is  of  this  description;  and  therefore  it  is 
only  used  for  coarser  works,  or  for  a  ground  on 
which  to  lay  veneers  of  the  choicer  sorts.  For  the 
latter  purpose  it  is  well  adapted,  as  it  holds  glue 
better  than  deal,  and,  when  properly  seasoned,  is  not  so 
apt  to  warp  or  to  be  eaten  by  insects.  When  it  grows 
in  favourable  situations,  where  it  has  room  to  spread, 
it  is  of  much  better  quality  and  puts  out  large 
branches,  the  junctions  of  which  with  the  stem  fur- 
nish those  beautifully  curled  pieces  of  which  the 
choicest  veneers  are  made.  When  among  rocks  and 
much  exposed,  the  size  is  inferior,  and  there  is  not 


MAHOGANY.  151 

so   much   breadth   or    variety    of  shading;  but   the 
timber  is  far  superior,  and  the  colour  is  more  rich. 
The  last  description  is  by  far  the  strongest,  and  is 
therefore   the   best   adapted   for  chairs,  the   legs   of 
tables,  and  other  purposes  in  which  a  moderate  size 
has  to  bear  a  considerable  strain.     Since  the  produce 
of  Jamaica  has  been  nearly  exhausted,  there  are  only 
two  kinds  known  in  the  market.     Bay  wood,  or  that 
which  is  got   from   the  continent   of  America,  and 
Spanish  wood,  or  the  produce   of  the  islands  chiefly 
of  Cuba  and  Hayti.     Though  the  Bay  wood  is  infe- 
rior to  the  other  both   in   value    and   in  price,  it  is 
often  very  beautiful,  and  may   be    obtained   in  logs 
as  large    as   six   feet  square.       It   is,  however,  not 
nearly  so  compact  as  the  other;  the  grain  is  apt   to 
rise    in   polishing,  and,  if  it   be   not   covered   by   a 
water-proof  varnish,  it   is   very   easily   stained.     It 
also  gives  to  the   tool  in   carving,  and   is   not   well 
adapted   for  ornaments.     Spanish   wood   cuts   well, 
takes   a   fine   polish,   resists   scratches,    stains,    and 
fractures  much  better,  and  is  generally  the  only  sort 
upon  which  much  or  delicate  workmanship  should  be 
expended.     The  colours  of  mahogany  do  not  come 
well  out   without  the   application  of  oil  or  varnish; 
and  if  the  best  sorts  be  often  washed  with  water,  or 
long   macerated   in   it,  they   lose   their   beauty,  and 
become  of  a   dingy  brown.     The  red   is   deepened 
by  alkaline   applications,  especially   lime-water;  but 
strong  acids  destroy  the  colour.    When  the  surface  is 
covered  by  a  colourless  varnish,  which  displays  the 
natural    tints   without   altering    any   of  them,    good 
mahogany  appears  to  the  greatest  advantage. 

The  Febrifuga,  or  East  India  mahogany,  is  a  very 
large  tree.  It  grows  in  the  mountainous  parts  of 
central  Hindostan,  rises  to  a  great  height  with  a 
straight  trunk,  which,  towards  the  upper  part,  throws 
out  many  branches.  The  head  is  spreading,  and 


152  VEGETABLE    SUBSTAJtCBi. 

the  leaves  have  some  resemblance  to  those  of  the 
American  species.  The  wood  is  of  a  dull  red  colour, 
not  so  beautiful  as  common  mahogany,  but  much 
harder,  heavier,  and  more  durable.  The  natives  of 
India  account  it  the  most  lasting  timber  that  their 
country  produces,  and  therefore  they  employ  it  in 
their  sacred  edifices,  and  upon  every  occasion  where 
they  wish  to  combine  strength  with  durability. 


Swietenia  cUoroxylon. 

The  Chloroxylon  is  chiefly  found  in  the  mountains 
of  the  Sircars,  that  run  parallel  to  the  bay  of  Bengal, 
to  the  N.E.  of  the  mouth  of  the  River  Godovery. 
The  tree  does  not  attain  the  same  size  as  either  of  the 
former,  and  the  appearance  of  the  wood  is  different. 
It  is  of  a  deep  yellow,  nearly  of  the  same  colour  as 
box,  from  which  it  does  not  differ  much  in  durability ; 
and  it  could  be  applied  to  the  same  purposes. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

SHRUBS   PRODUCING  HARD  TIMBER, 
FRUIT-TREES,  AND  FANCY  WOODS. 


TREES    OF  SMALLER  GROWTH,  AND    SHRUBS,  MOSTLY 
PRODUCING    VERY    HARD    TIMBER. 

NOT  to  multiply  too  much  the  subdivisions  of  this 
brief  sketch,  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  class  under  one 
head  a  few  of  the  principal  plants  that  are  comprised 
in  the  above  description,  though  they  have  no  botani- 
cal relationship;  though  they  are  natives  of  different 
countries;  and  though  some  are  deciduous,  and  others 
evergreens. 

1 .  THORN. — Of  the  thorn  (  Cratcegus}  the  botanists 
enumerate  many  species,  which  they  class  into  se- 
veral genera.  Some  of  these  species  are  natives  of 
America.  They  are  mostly  hardy  and  deciduous, 
and,  when  planted  singly,  grow  up  to  be  large 
shrubs,  or  small  trees.  Most  of  them  thrive  well 
in  this  country;  though  they  are  stunted  and  poor, 
on  very  bad  soils,  in  exposed  situations. 

The  White  Beam  (Pyrus  aria]  is  a  beautiful 
tree  rising  to  the  height  of  thirty  or  forty  feet.  The 
trunk  is  large,  and  divides  into  many  branches.  The 
leaves  are  light  green  on  the  upper  sides,  and  white 
on  the  under.  It  is  a  native  of  many  parts  of  Europe, 
growing  upon  dry  and  rather  warm  soils,  such  as 
those  over  gravel,  chalk,  and  limestone.  The  wood  is 
very  firm  and  tough.  Walking-sticks,  wooden  axles, 
handles  of  tools,  and  many  other  things  are  made 
of  it.  It  is  close  and  takes  a  smooth  polish;  but,  like 
most  of  the  thorns,  it  requires  to  be  well  seasoned, 
otherwise  it  is  apt  to  warp  and  split. 

The  Wild  Service  (Pyrus  torminalis}  grows  to  a 


154          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

considerable  size,  and  requires  a  stronger  soil  than  the 
former.  The  flowers  are  in  large  bunches,  and  are 
succeeded  by  brown  berries  in  the  shape  of  haws, 
but  larger,  which  are  often  to  be  met  with  in  the 
London  markets,  in  autumn.  The  timber  is  compact, 
hard,  tough,  and  white;  and  answers  very  well  for 
cogs  of  wheels,  and  other  working  parts  of  wooden 
machinery. 

The  Indian  Hawthorn  (Raphiolipis  Indica)  is  a 
native  of  the  East  Indies.  It  has  been  said,  but  the 
statement  is  somewhat  doubtful,  that  it  is  of  larger 
size  than  most  of  the  other  thorns;  without  spines; 
and  yielding  a  tough,  red  timber,  fit  for  oars,  hand- 
spikes, and  similar  purposes. 


Whitt  Thorn — Cratagus  oxycantha. 

Common  hawthorn,  or  White  Thorn  ( C.  oxycan- 
tha), is  valuable  both  as  a  hedge  shrub,  and  as  a  tree. 
Few  plants  exceed  it  in  beauty,  when  in  bloom;  the 
season  of  which  is  usually  May,  on  which  account 
the  name  of  May,  or  "  May-blossom,"  is,  in  some 
places,  given  to  the  tree.  There  is  one  variety  how- 
ever, the  Glastonbury  thorn  (to  which  the  monks  of 
the  dark  ages  attached  a  popular  legend),  that 


WHITE-THORN.  155 

flowers  in  January  or  February,  and  in  favourable 
seasons  and  situations,  as  early  as  Christmas.  Gilpin 
mentions  that  "  one  of  its  progeny,  which  grew  in 
the  gardens  at  Bulstrode,  had  its  flower-buds  per- 
fectly formed  so  early  as  the  21st  December."  In 
the  arboretum  at  the  Royal  Gardens,  Kew,  a  similar 
thorn  flowers  at  the  same  season.  The  belief  that 
certain  trees  put  forth  their  flowers  on  Christmas- 
day,  was  not  confined  to  the  Glastonbury  thorn.  In 
the  JVew  Forest,  at  Cadenham,  near  Lyndhurst,  an 
oak  used  to  bud  about  that  period;  but  the  people, 
for  two  centuries,  believed  that  it  never  budded  all 
the  year,  except  on  Old  Christmas-day.  The  super- 
stition was  destroyed  by  careful  investigation;  and 
the  circumstance  is  thus  recorded  in  the  Salisbury 
newspaper  of  January  10,1786: — "  Inconsequence 
of  a  report  that  has  prevailed  in  this  county  for  up- 
wards of  two  centuries,  and  which,  by  many,  has 
been  considered  as  a  matter  of  faith,  that  the  oak  at 
Cadenham,  in  the  New  Forest,  shoots  forth  leaves 
on  every  Old  Christmas-day,  and  that  no  leaf  is  ever 
to  be  seen  on  it  either  before  or  after  that  day,  during 
the  winter,  a  lady,  who  is  now  on  a  visit  in  this  city, 
and  who  is  attentively  curious  in  every  thing  relative 
to  art  or  nature,  made  a  journey  to  Cadenham,  on 
Monday  the  3d  instant,  purposely  fo  inquire  on  the 
spot,  about  the  production  of  this  famous  tree.  On 
her  arrival  near  it,  the  usual  guide  was  ready  to 
attend  her;  but,  on  his  being  desired  to  climb  the 
oak,  and  to  search  whether  there  were  any  leaves 
then  on  it,  he  said  it  would  be  to  no  purpose;  but 
that  if  she  would  come  on  the  Wednesday  following, 
(Christmas  day,)  she  might  certainly  see  thousands. 
However,  he  was  prevailed  upon  to  ascend,  and  on  the 
first  branch  which  he  gathered  appeared  several  fair 
new  leaves,  fresh  sprouted  from  the  buds,  and  nearly 
an  inch  and  a  half  in  length.  It  may  be  imagined 
that  the  guide  was  more  amazed  at  this  premature 


156  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

production  than  the  lady,  for,  so  strong  was  his  be- 
lief in  the  truth  of  the  whole  tradition,  that  he  would 
have  pledged  his  life  that  not  a  leaf  was  to  have 
been  discovered  on  any  part  of  the  tree  before  the 
usual  hour." 

When  young,  the  hawthorn  grows  rapidly,  a  shoot 
of  a  single  year  being  sufficient  for  a  walking  stick; 
but  when  it  stands  to  be  a  tree,  it  makes  wood  very 
slowly,  and  lives  to  a  great  age.  The  wood  is  re- 
markably durable  :  there  is  (or  was,  a  few  years  ago) 
a  hawthorn  in  the  cellar  of  Cawdor  castle,  in  the 
county  of  JVairn,  which  has  been  without  leaves  or 
bark  for  more  than  a  century,  and  which,  tradition 
says,  has  been  in  its  present  situation,  and  of  its  pre- 
sent size,  ever  since  the  castle  (which  is  a  very  old 
one)  was  founded. 

The  trunk  of  an  old  hawthorn  is  more  gnarled  and 
rough  than,  perhaps,  that  of  any  other  tree ;  and  this, 
with  its  hoary  appearance,  and  its  fragrance,  renders 
it  a  favourite  tree  with  pastoral  and  rustic  poets,  and 
with  those  to  whom  they  address  their  songs.  Milton, 
in  his  L'Allegro,  has  not  forgotten  this  favourite  of 
the  village: 

"  Every  shepherd  tells  his  tale 
liader  the  hawthorn  in  the  dale." 

When  Burns,  with  equal  force  and  delicacy,  deline- 
ates the  pure  and  unsophisticated  affection  of  young, 
intelligent,  and  innocent  country  people,  as  the  most 
enchanting  of  human  feelings,  he  gives  additional 
sweetness  to  the  picture  by  placing  his  lovers 

"  Beneath  the  milk-white  thorn,  that  scents  the  evening  gale." 

There  is  something  about  the  tree,  which  one  bred  in 
the  country  cannot  soon  forget,  and  which  a  visitor 
learns,  perhaps,  sooner  than  any  association  of  placid 
delight  connected  with  rural  scenery.  When,  too,  the 
traveller,  or  the  man  of  the  world,  after  a  life  spent  in 
other  pursuits  returns  to  the  village  of  his  nativity,  the 


HOLLY. 


157 


old  hawthorn  is  the  only  playfellow  of  his  boyhood  that 
has  not  changed.  His  seniors  are  in  the  grave;  his 
contemporaries  are  scattered ;  the  hearths  at  which  he 
found  a  welcome  are  in  the  possession  of  those  who 
know  him  not;  the  roads  are  altered;  the  houses  re- 
built, and  the  common  trees  have  grown  out  of  his 
knowledge:  but  be  it  half  a  century  or  more,  if  man 
spare  the  old  hawthorn,  it  is  just  the  same — not  a 
limb,  hardly  a  twig,  has  altered  from  the  picture  that 
memory  traces  of  his  early  years. 

The  timber  of  the  hawthorn  is  remarkably  hard  and 
durable,  and  fit  for  very  many  purposes;  but  a  sup- 
ply of  large  dimensions  cannot  be  obtained  rapidly,  as 
the  tree  grows  so  very  slowly  after  attaining  some  size. 

There  are  several  varieties  of  the  hawthorn,  all 
natives  of  Europe.  Of  these  the  double-flowering  has 
great  beauty  as  a  shrub. 

2.  HOLLY.— Of  the  Holly  (Ilex)  there  are  sixteen 
species,  and  the  varieties  produced,  distinguished 
chiefly  by  the  leaves,  are  very  numerous. 


VOL      II 


Ilex  aquifolium. 

14 


158  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

The  Common  Holly  (Ilex  aquifolium)  is  very 
abundantly  diffused,  being  found  in .  warm  climates, 
and  in  cold, — in  most  countries  of  Europe,  and  in 
many  of  Asia  and  America.  Hollies  are  abundant 
in  some  of  the  uncultivated  parts  of  the  southern 
counties  of  England ;  and  they  are  also  to  be  met  with 
in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  in  places  where  one 
could  hardly  suppose  they  had  been  planted. 

Were  it  not  that  the  holly  grows  very  slowly  when 
young,  and  cannot  be  safely  transplanted  when  it  has 
attained  a  considerable  size,  it  would  make  better 
hedge-rows  than  the  hawthorn.  When  allowed  timer 
and  not  destroyed  by  shortening  the  top-shoot,  the 
holly  grows  up  to  a  large  tree.  Some  at  the  Holly- 
walk,  near  Frensham.  in  Surrey,  are  mentioned  by 
Bradley,  as  having  grown  to  the  height  of  sixty  feet ; 
and  old  hollies  of  thirty  and  forty  feet,  with  clean 
trunks  of  considerable  diameter,  are  to  be  met  with 
in  many  parts  of  the  country. 

A  holly  hedge  is  a  pleasing  object,  though  it  is  too 
often  clipped  into  formal  shapes.  Evelyn  had  a 
magnificent  hedge  of  this  sort,  at  his  gardens  at 
Say's  Court,  which  he  planted  at  the  suggestion  of 
Peter  the  Great,  who  resided  in  his  house  when  he 
worked  in  the  dock-yards  at  Deptford.  He  thus 
rapturously  speaks  of  this  fine  fence:  "Is  there 
under  heaven  a  more  glorious  and  refreshing  object 
of  the  kind  than  an  impregnable  hedge,  of  about  four 
hundred  feet  in  length,  nine  feet  high,  and  five  in 
diameter,  which  I  can  shew  in  my  new  raised  gar- 
dens at  Say's  Court  (thanks  to  the  Czar  of  Muscovy) 
at  any  time  of  the  year,  glittering  with  its  armed  and 
varnished  leaves,  the  taller  standards,  at  orderly  dis- 
tances, blushing  with  their  natural  coral." 

The  timber  of  the  holly  is  very  white  and  compact, 
which  adapts  it  well  for  many  purposes  in  the  arts; 
though,  as  it  is  very  retentive  of  its  sap,  and  warps  in 


HOLLY.  159 

consequence,  it  requires  to  be  well  dried  and  seasoned 
before  being  used.  It  takes  a  durable  colour,  black, 
or  almost  any  other;  and.  hence,  it  is  much  used  by 
cabinet-makers  in  forming  what  are  technically  called 
strings  and  borders,  in  ornamental  works.  When  pro- 
perly stained  black,  its  colour  and  lustre  are  not  much 
inferior  to  those  of  ebony.  For  various  purposes  of  the 
turner,  and  for  the  manufacture  of  what  is  called 
Tunb ridge  ware,  it  is  also  much  used;  and,  next  to 
box  and  pear-tree,  it  is  the  best  wood  for  engraving 
upon,  as  it  is  close  and  stands  the  tool  well.  The 
slowness  of  its  growth,  however,  renders  it  an  ex- 
pensive timber.  The  bark  of  the  holly  contains  a 
great  deal  of -viscid  matter;  and,  when  macerated  in 
water,  fermented,  and  then  separated  from  the  fibres, 
it  forms  bird-lime. 

3.  Box. — The  wood  of  the  box  is  of  consider- 
able size,  though  we  generally  meet  with  a  small 
species  in  this  country,  in  the  state  of  a  shrub, 
forming  borders,  where  the  largest  stem  is  not 
thicker  than  a  packthread,  or,  when  not  in  this 
state,  still  as  a  little  shrub  often  tastelessly  cut  into 
fantastic  shapes.  Only  two  species  of  box  are  men- 
tioned by  botanists;  but  there  are  several  varieties, 
and  one  of  them,  the  Dwarf  Box  (Buxus  suffru- 
ticosa)  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  considered  as  a  dis- 
tinct species  from  the  Common  Box  (Buxus  semper- 
virens],  and  not  merely  a  variety,  as  no  art  has  been 
able  to  rear  the  former  to  the  size  of  the  latter. 
The  seeds  of  the  one  were  never  observed  by  Miller 
to  produce  plants  of  the  other,  as  is  the  case  with 
most  varieties  of  species  in  the  vegetable  kingdom, 
more  especially  of  trees  and  shrubs. 

When  allowed  to  arrive  at  its  full  growth,  the  box 
attains  the  height  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet,  and  the 
trunk  varies  in  diameter  from  three  to  six  inches, 
which  it  sometimes,  though  rarely,  exceeds. 


160       VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 


Bums  scmpervirens. 

It  is  a  native  of  all  the  middle  and  southern  parts 
of  Europe;  and  it  is  found  in  greater  abundance  and 
of  a  larger  size  in  the  countries  on  the  west  of  Asia, 
to  the  south  of  the  mountains  of  Caucasus.  In 
many  parts  of  France  it  is  also  plentiful,  though 
generally  in  the  character  of  a  shrub.  In  early 
times  it  flourished  upon  many  of  the  barren  hills  of 
England.  Evelyn  found  it  upon  some  of  the  higher 
hills  in  Surrey,  displaying  its  myrtle-shaped  leaves 
and  its  bright  green  in  the  depth  of  winter;  and, 
till  very  recently,  it  gave  to  Boxhill,  in  that  county,  the 
charms  of  a  delightful  and  perennial  verdure.  The 
trees  have  now  been  destroyed,  and  the  name,  as 
at  other  places  called  after  the  box,  has  become  the 
monument  of  its  former  beauty. 

Yet  no  tree  so  well  merits  cultivation — though 
its  growth  be  slow.  It  is  an  unique  among  tim- 
ber, and  combines  qualities  which  are  not  found 
existing  together  in  any  other.  It  is  as  close  and 
heavy  as  ebony;  not  very  much  softer  than  lignutn- 
vit(Kj  it  cuts  better  than  any  other  wood;  and  when 
an  edge  is  made  of  the  ends  of  the  fibres,  it  stands 
better  than  lead  or  tin,  nay  almost  as  well  as  brass. 
Like  holly,  the  box  is  very  retentive  of  its  sap,  and 


BOX.  161 

warps  when  not  properly  dried,  though  when  suffi- 
ciently seasoned  it  stands  well.  Hence,  for  the  wooden 
pait  of  the  finer  tools,  for  everything  that  requires 
strength,  beauty,  and  polish  in  timber,  there  is  nothing 
equal  to  it.  There  is  one  purpose  for  which  box,  and 
box  alone,  is  properly  adapted,  and  that  is  the  form- 
ing of  wood-cuts,  for  scientific  or  other  illustra- 
tions in  books.  These  reduce  the  price  considerably 
in  the  first  engraving,  and  also  in  the  printing; 
while  the  wood-cut  in  box  admits  of  as  high  and 
sharp  a  finish  as  any  metal,  and  takes  the  ink  much 
better.  It  is  remarkably  durable  too;  for,  if  the  cut 
be  not  exposed  to  alternate  moisture  or  heat,  so  as  to 
warp  or  crush  it,  the  number  of  thousands  that  it 
will  print  is  almost  incredible.  England  is  the  coun- 
try where  this  economical  mode  of  illustration  is 
performed  in  the  greatest  perfection;  and  just  when 
a  constant  demand  for  box  was  thus  created,  the  trees 
available  for  the  purpose  had  vanished  from  the  island. 

Permanent  figures  and  ornaments  are  often  im- 
pressed upon  boxj  by  a  much  more  cheap  and  simple 
process  than  that  of  carving.  For  this  purpose  the 
wood  is  softened  by  the  application  of  heat  and  mois- 
ture; and  the  die  being  strongly  pressed  upon  it 
when  in  that  state,  the  impression  comes  off,  and  is 
retained  with  considerable  sharpness.  Snuff-boxes 
of  this  description  are  extensively  made  in  France, 
Switzerland,  and  Germany,  and  the  material  used  is 
principally  the  root  of  the  box. 

4.  EBONY. — As  to  which  is  the  real  ebony  tree, 
those  who  treat  of  and  classify  plants  are  not  wholly 
agreed,  though  it  is  usually  referred  either  to  one  or 
more  species  of  the  date  plum,  that  grow  in  the 
south-eastern  parts  *of  Asia,  and  the  adjoining 
islands,  or  to  that  which  is  a  native  of  Jamaica; 
though  the  former  (Diospyrus  Ebenus}  is,  by  the 
best  judges,  considered  as  the  true  ebony.  The 

VOL.    II.  14* 


162 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


fact  is,  that  the  name  ebony  is  applied  to  trees  of 
various  genera,  producing  wood  of  different  colours, 
and  only  agreeing  in  the  common  qualities  of  great 
compactness,  weight,  and  durability.  Ebony  was 
much  more  in  use  and  esteem  formerly  than  it  is 
now.  When  good,  it  is  very  valuable  for  the  pur- 
poses to  which  it  is  applied,  not  being  liable  to 
shrink  or  warp.  It  does  not,  however,  hold  glue 
so  well  as  mahogany;  and  it  is  apt  to  be  imitated 
by  less  valuable  woods  stained  black. 

In  his  Journal,  Bishop  Heber  describes  the  Ebony 
tree  of  Ceylon  as  a  magnificent  forest  tree,  with  a 
tall,  black,  slender  stem,  spotted  with  white.  A  great 
deal  of  the  furniture  in  Ceylon  is  made  of  ebony. 
At  Fonthill  Abbey  there  were  some  splendid  ebony 
chairs,  carved  in  the  most  elaborate  manner,  and  of 
prodigious  weight,  which  were  said  to  have  be- 
longed to  Cardinal  Wolsey;  and  there  were  formerly 
some  similar  chairs  in  the  Round  Tower  of  Windsor 
Castle. 


Litrnumvita. 


LIGNUMVIT^E.  163 

5.  LIGNUMVITJE. — The  Lignumvitix  of  commerce 
(Guaiacum  Officinale')  is  a  dark-looking  evergreen, 
and  grows  to  a  great  size  in  the  West  India  Islands,  of 
which  it  is  a  native.     It  bears  blue  flowers,  which 
are  succeeded  by  roundish  capsules.     In  its  native 
climate  the  Lignumvita?  is  a   very  hardy  tree,  and 
retains  its  greenness  in  the  dryest  weather.     It  strikes 
its  roots  deep  into  the  ground,  and  thus  defies  the 
hurricane  as  well  as  the  drought.     The  bark  is  hard, 
smooth,  and  brittle;  and  the  wood  is  of  a  yellowish, 
or,  rather,  olive  colour,  with  the  grain  crossing  in  a 
sort  of  irregular  lozenge-work.     Lignumvitae  is  the 
weightiest  timber  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  and 
it  is  the  most  difficult  to  work.     It  can  hardly  be  split, 
but  breaks  into  pieces  like  a  stone  or  chrystalized 
metal.     It  is  full  of  resinous  juice,  which  prevents 
oil  or  water  from  working  into  it ;    and  it  is,  there- 
fore, proof  against  decay.     Its  weight  and  hardness 
make  it  the  very  best  timber  for  stampers  and  mallets 
of  all  sorts;  and  its  resinous  matter  fits  it  the  best 
for  the  sheaves  or  pulleys  of  blocks,  and  for  friction 
rollers  and  castors.     A  sheave  of  lignumvitae  cuts  a 
wooden  pin  less,  and  is  less  cut  by- a  metal  one,  than 
a  sheave  of  any  other   timber  ;    while  its  own  sap 
makes  it  work  as  smoothly  as  other  timber  even  when 
smeared  with  grease,  black-lead,  or  any  other  anti- 
attrition  application.     Lignumvitae  is  much  used  in 
our  dock-yards  for  sheaves;  and  its  application  may 
be  seen  upon  a  grand  scale,  hi  the  beautiful  block- 
machinery  at  Portsmouth. 

When  full  grown,  the  largest  lignumvitse  trees  are 
from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in  height,  and  from  fourteen 
to  eighteen  inches  in  diameter.  Like  the  other  resi- 
nous trees,  it  contains  sapwood,  which  is  of  lighter 
colour  than  the  heart;  but,  though  not  so  hard,  the 
light  part  is  a  weighty  and  strong  timber,  and  not 
liable  to  separate  from  the  other. 

The  resin  of  the  Iignumvita3,  Gum   Guaiacwn  of 


164          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

the  shops,  may  be  obtained  by  bleeding  the  live  tree, 
and  also  by  boiling  the  chips  and  sawdust  of  the 
wood.  It  is  aromatic,  slightly  bitter,  and  prescribed 
in  chronic  rheumatisms,  and  other  diseases.  The 
capsules  and  also  the  bark  are  aperient,  and  used  in 
medicine,  the  former  being  the  more  powerful. 

The  lignumvitce  has  been  reared  by  artificial  heat 
in  this  country;  but,  as  it  grows  slowly  even  in  the 
West  Indies,  its  growth  here  must  of  course  be  still 
slower,  and  therefore  it  does  not  admit  of  being  culti- 
vated, except  in  botanical  collections,  or  as  a  curiosity. 
6.    BLACK-THORN. — The   Black-thorn,   or    Sloe, 
though  armed  with  spines,  or  prickles,  like  the  other 
thorns,  is  yet  a  very  different  genus  of  tree.   It  is  a  plum, 
though  one  in  a  state  of  nature,  and  not  much  regarded 
as  fruit.     It  is  the  Primus  spinosa  of  botanists.     It  is 
hardy,  and  a  native  of  many  parts  of  this  country ;  though 
seldom  cultivated,  as  it  makes  but  an  unsightly  hedge, 
and  does  not  rise  to  be  valuable  as  a  tree.     The  leaves 
have  sometimes  been  used  for  tea;  and  it  is  alleged 
that  the  "  rough-flavoured  teas"  of  cheap  dealers  are 
more  indebted  for  their  roughness  to  the  sloe,  than 
to  any  ingredient  from  China  or  elsewhere.     It  is 
also  understood  that  the  berries  of  the  sloe  enter 
pretty  largely  into  the  composition  of  much  of  the 
wine  that  is  miscalled   Port.     The  wood,  which  is 
very  tough  and  hard,  answers  well  for  walking-sticks, 
pegs,  and  other  small  purposes. 

7.  CRAB  TREE. — The  common  Crab  Tree  (Pyrus 
mains')  is  found  native  in  many  parts  of  this  country, 
where  it  rises  to  the  height  of  a  considerable  tree. 
When  the  soil  is  very  rich,  the  fruit  attains  the  size 
of  a  small  apple,  and  is  used  in  feeding  hogs.  The 
timber  is  hard  and  compact,  answers  remarkably 
well  for  turning,  and  for  the  working  parts  of  machi- 
nery, while  the  shoots  make  excellent  walking-sticks. 
Near  the  bottoms  of  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Welch 
mountains,  there  are  many  crab  trees,  both  singly 


FRUIT    TREES.  165 

and  in  the  hedge-rows,  that  produce  a  great  deal 
of  fruit.  The  sour  juice  of  the  crab,  previously  to  the 
introduction  of  the  modern  methods  of  obtaining 
vegetable  acids,  was  in  considerable  request  under 
the  name  of  verjuice. 


TIMBER    OP    TREES    CULTIVATED    PRINCIPALLY    ON 
ACCOUNT    OF    THEIR    FRUIT. 

The  varieties  of  trees  of  this  description  are  almost 
innumerable;  and  so  much  has  been  done  by  culti- 
vation, grafting,  inoculating,  and  mixing  of  sorts, 
that  the  knowledge  of  these  sorts  has  become  almost 
a  science  in  itself.  The  original  varieties  and  even 
species  are  lost  and  confounded;  and  man  contests 
with  nature  in  the  production  of  the  varied  fruits  that 
appear  in  our  markets,  not  only  as  respects  the  sorts, 
but  as  regards  the  times  at  which  they  are  brought 
to  market. 

Considered  merely  as  timber-trees,  they  are  much 
more  simple.  They  may  be  divided  into  two  classes, — 
stone-fruits,  or  those  that  have  a  hard  kernel  enclosed 
in  a  soft  pulp;  and  fruits  that  have  seeds  or  pips, 
and  the  pulp  of  a  firmer  consistency.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  peach,  the  nectarine,  and  the  almond, 
which  form  the  genus  Jlmygdalus,  the  whole  of  the 
stone-fruits  are  contained  in  the  genus  Prunus,  and  the 
seeded  fruits  in  the  genus  Pyrus  or  Mespilus.  None 
of  the  genus  Amygdalus  are  reared  as  timber-  trees 
in  any  part  of  this  country:  it  will,  therefore,  suffice 
to  confine  the  few  observations  that  are  to  be  made 
to  the  others. 

The  wood  of  these  two  genera  is  close  and  compact, 
and  takes  a  good  polish;  that  of  the  wild  sorts  being 
better  than  that  of  the  cultivated,  and  the  deteriora- 
tion being  in  proportion  to  the  highness  of  the  culti- 
vation. In  this  they  follow  the  general  law,  that  self- 
planted  trees  yield  the  best  timber;  and,  in  addition  to 


166  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCE*. 

this,  their  powers  of  vegetation  are  exhausted  by  the 
quantity  of  fruit  that  they  are,as  it  were,  forced  to  bear. 

C/je7Tt'es,  in  a  wild  state,  are  very  plentifully  dif- 
fused, being  met  with  in  most  temperate  countries, 
and  even  in  those  that  may  be  considered  as  cold. 
The  wood  of  the  cherry  is  very  close,  and,  in  some 
sorts,  of  a  beautiful  colour,  and  well  adapted  for 
handles  of  tools.  It  takes  a  fine  polish,  and  is  not 
liable  to  split.  Some  of  the  bird  cherries  are  beauti- 
fully veined,  and  have  an  agreeable  perfume,  on 
which  account  they  are  much  used  by  cabinet-makers 
in  the  interior  parts  of  the  continent.  None  of  the 
cherries  grow  to  be  very  large  trees;  but  they  may 
frequently  be  met  with  from  a  foot  to  eighteen  niches 
in  diameter  at  the  root. 

Jlpricois  grow  wild  in  China,  Japan,  and  upon 
many  of  the  mountains  of  central  Asia:  the  timber 
has  some  resemblance  to  that  of  the  cherry ;  but  it  is 
white,  and  not  so  hard.  The  apricot  is  not  a  native 
of  England,  and  is  not  cultivated  as  a  timber  tree. 

The  Wild  Plum  is  a  native  of  the  warmer  parts  of 
Europe,  though  it  be  doubtful  whether  of  England 
or  not.  It  is  sometimes  found  in  hedges  and  other 
situations  where  it  is  not  likely  to  have  been  planted, 
but  it  may  have  been  produced  from  some  of  the  cul- 
tivated sorts.  The  plum-tree  grows  to  a  considerable 
size;  the  wood  is  close  and  strong;  and  the  bark 
may  be  used  in  dyeing  yellow. 

The  Pear  grows  to  a  considerable  size:  the  wood 
is  light,  smooth,  and  compact;  and  answers  well  for 
carving,  for  picture-frames,  the  handles  of  tools,  and 
wooden  spoons  and  dishes. 

The  wood  of  the  Apple  is  harder  and  weightier  than 
that  of  the  pear:  it  bears  a  resemblance  to  that  of  the 
crab,  although  it  be  not  so  tough  and  hard.  In  the 
working  parts  of  machinery,  it  is  very  durable. 

The  timber  of  the  fruit-trees  is  not  well  adapted  for 
works  that  are  to  be  under  water.  The  sap  being  so- 


FANCY    WOODS.  167 

luble  in  that  liquid,  is  soon  extracted  by  it,  and  then 
the  particles  of  the  wood  separate.  The  best  timbers 
for  being  placed  in  water  are  those  containing  resins 
which  water  cannot  dissolve  :  the  viscid  juice  of  the 
fruit-trees  is  a  gum,  and  not  a  resin. 


FANCY  WOODS. 

EVEN  at  a  comparatively  early  stage  of  the  arts, 
mankind  appear  to  have  made  use  of  the  bright  or 
variegated  colours  of  wood,  to  give  beauty  both  to 
their  dwellings  and  their  furniture.  The  temple  built 
by  King  Soloman  was  ^overlaid  on  the  inside  with 
boards  of  cedar: — "  all  was  cedar;  there  was  no  stone 
seen"  ;  and  among  the  most  ancient  specimens  of 
ornamental  furniture  that  are  to  be  met  with,  we  find 
that  attempts  have  been  made  to  heighten  the  effect 
by  the  contrast  of  various  kinds  of  wood.  Although, 
both  in  the  materials  and  the  designs,  these  are  infe- 
rior to  the  productions  of  modern  art,  many  of  the 
cabinets  which  are  still  preserved  have  much  higher 
claims  to  notice  than  their  mere  aritiq-JHty. 

In  all  these  works  a  veneer  or  thit^plate  of  the 
fancy  wood  is  laid  down  in  glue,  upon  a* surface  of  a 
plainer  description.  This  process  is  of  course  cheaper 
than  if  the  whole  work  were  made  of  the  solid  fancy 
wood.  The  beauty  of  fancy  wood  arises  in  many 
sorts  from  its  being  cross-grained,  or  presenting  the 
fibres  endways  or  obliquely  to  the  surface.  These 
different  positions  of  the  fibres,  as  well  as  their  dif- 
ferent colours  in  grained  woods,  give  a  clouded  and 
mottled  variety  to  the  surface;  and  when  some  of 
the  parts  are  partially  transparent,  as  is  the  case  with 
fine  mahogany,  the  surface  gives  out  a  play  of  dif- 
ferent tints,  as  the  observer  shifts  his  place,  or  the 


168  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

light  falls  upon  them,  and  consequently  is  reflected 
at  different  angles. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  art  of  cabinet  making, 
and  before  the  forests  of  the  tropical  regions  had 
been  explored  for  those  beautiful  woods  which  have 
since  added  so  much  to  the  elegance  of  modern  fur- 
niture, the  veneering  and  ornamenting  were  in  woods 
of  native  growth.  JVone  of  these  have  the  deep  an 
warm  tints  of  the  finest  of  the  foreign;  but  the  figures 
with  which  they  are  marked  are  often  very  beautiful. 
The  yew,  which,  with  its  other  tints,  blends  a  certain 
trace  of  pink  or  rose-colour,  and  when  it  is  gnarled 
or  knotty,  has  a  very  rich  appearance,  was  the  wood 
used  for  the  finest  and  most  costly  works.  The 
common  veneering  timber  was  walnut;  but  as  that 
has  but  few  of  those  variegations,  which  are  tech- 
nically termed  curls,  the  works  ornamented  with 
it  were  rather  deficient  in  beauty.  The  knotty  parts 
of  "  pollard"  oaks,  and  "  pollard"  elms,  are  much 
better  adapted  for  the  purpose  of  ornament ;  but  as 
the  grain  of  both  is  open,  and  as  it  is  apt  to  rise,  and 
as  the  earlier  cabinet-makers  were  not  so  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  art  of  varnishing,  as  those  of  mo- 
dern times,  the  beauties  of  these  woods  were  not 
turned  to  the  proper  account. 

When  mahogany  was  first  introduced  as  a  cabinet 
timber,  it  seems  to  have  been  in  the  dark-coloured, 
hard,  and  straight-grained  trees,  which  are  now 
used  for  chairs,  and  other  articles,  in  whiph  the  solid 
timber  is  preferred;  and  on  that  account  mahogany 
was  not  much  used  in  combination  with  other  woods. 
When,  however,  its  great  value  was  known — the  ease 
with  which  it  can  be  cut,  the  improvement  that  var- 
nish gives  to  its  colours,  the  firmness  with  which  it 
holds  in  glue,  and  the  improvement  which,  when 
properly  taken  care  of,  it  gains  in  time — it  was  found 
that  good  mahogany  was  much  too  valuable  a  timber 


FANCY    WOODS.  169 

for  being  used  solid;  and  it  began  to  be  employed  as 
the  staple  timber  in  veneering.  Other  foreign  woods, 
some  of  them  lighter  and  others  darker,  were  em- 
ployed for  borders  and  ornaments:  but  mahogany 
was  used  for  the  body  of  the  work;  and  when  it  came 
to  be  so  used,  a  great  revolution  was  effected  in  the 
art  of  cabinet-making.  On  the  first  introduction  of 
mahogany,  the  same  process  was  resorted  to,  that  had 
before  been  practised  with  the  walnut  and  other 
woods,  and  effect  was  sought  to  be  produced  by 
quartering  pannels,  forming  them  of  gyrony*  of  sec- 
tors, with  the  grain  in  opposite  directions,  and  other 
fantastic  and  unnatural  arrangements:  but  in  course 
of  time,  a  better  taste  was  introduced,  and  the  object 
was  to  make  the  whole  surface  have  the  same  ap- 
pearance as  if  the  work  had  been  made  solid  out  of 
the  rich  timber.  This  was  one  step  toward  the  at- 
tainment of  a  purer  style;  but  the  continuity  of  the 
surface  was  still  interrupted  by  ill-sorted  additions. 
The  breadth  of  the  mahogany,  which  would  in  itself 
have  been  beautiful,  was  broken  by  bands  and  strings 
of  other  wood,  without  much  regard  to  the  harmony 
of  the  colours;  and  thus  that  which,  with  the  veneer 
alone,  would  have  been  chaste  and  classical,  was  re- 
duced to  a  piece  of  patch  work. 

The  veneering,  whether  done  in  mahogany  or 
any  other  wood,  was  at  first  very  expensive.  The 
veneers  were  cut  by  the  hand;  and  thus  the  piece  cut 
off  was  of  unequal  thickness  in  the  different  parts, 
the  wood  was  mangled  by  the  operation  of  cutting, 
and  the  finest  pieces,  which,  as  has  been  said,  are 
cross-grained,  or  have  the  fibres  across  their  thick- 
ness, were  always  in  danger  of  being  broken.  It  had 
been  found  that  veneers  laid  upon  good  bodies  of  tim- 
ber, whether  of  the  more  coarse  mahoganies,  or  of 

*  A  term  of  heraldry,  in  which  a  shield  is  formed  in  sectors 
from  the  centre. 

VOL.     II.  15 


170  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

any  other  kind,  were  better,  in  point  both  of  beauty 
and  of  standing  without  warping,  than  solid  timber  ; 
but  the  cutting  of  the  veneers  by  the  hand  was  very 
laborious,  and  wasted  the  timber,  so  that,  though 
the  plan  was  a  good  one,  it  was  expensive. 

When  the  harder  and  more  unmanageable  species 
of  fancy  woods  came  to  be  used,  the  difficulty  and 
expense  were  further  increased;  and  though  more 
beauty  and  variety  were  imparted  to  cabinet  furniture, 
they  were  imparted  at  a  corresponding  increase  of  ex- 
pense. Nor  was  it  till  the  invention  of  machinery  for 
the  cutting  of  wood  into  veneers,by  Mr.  Brunel,that  we 
had  the  full  advantage  of  the  beautiful  art  of  veneering. 

The  machinery  used  for  this  purpose  consists  of  cir- 
cular saws,  driven  by  mechanical  power,  and  they  have 
so  diminished  the  price  of  cutting  veneers,  that  the  sav- 
ing is  immense.  Thus,  those  classes  of  the  people  who, 
not  long  ago,  had  even  the  favourite  articles  of  their 
furniture  in  deal,  or  in  the  coarser  woods,  which  are 
the  growth  of  this  country,  now  have  them  in  maho- 

fany,  or  in  some  of  the  less  common  foreign  woods, 
ndependently  of  their  superior  beauty,  (and  that 
is  a  matter  of  more  consequence  than  many  would  be 
disposed  to  allow,)  these  foreign  woods  have  the  ad- 
vantage of  durability,  both  in  their  structure  and  their 
colours.  There  are  few  of  the  indigenous  woods  of 
Britain  into  which  the  worm  does  not  eat;  and  there 
are  none  of  them  in  which  the  colours  have  not  a 
tendency  to  come  to  the  same  shade,  when  long 
used,  unless  they  are  protected  by  varnish;  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  fancy  woods  from  the  tropical 
countries,  are  generally,  if  not  universally,  proof 
agninst  the  worm  in  England,  and  they  are  not  apt  to 
lose  their  colours.  Thus  the  introduction  of  machi- 
nery, for  the  purpose  of  cutting  veneers,  has  been  a 
material  saving  both  in  the  cost  and  the  wear  of 
furniture,  while  it  has  enabled  the  workman  to  extend 


FANCY    WOODS.  171 

to  a  surface  of  thousands  of  feet,  any  fine  piece  of 
timber  that  he  may  meet  with,  and  which,  before  the 
invention  of  that  machinery,  he  could  not  have  ex- 
tended to  as  many  hundreds. 

The  value  to  which  a  single  log  of  fine  timber  is 
turned,  by  means  of  the  improved  sawing  machinery, 
is  really  incredible  to  those  who  have  not  witnessed 
the  operation.  Thus,  when  the  cabinet-maker  has 
occasion  for  veneers,  he  has  only  to  purchase  a  log  of 
the  wood  which  suits  his  purpose,  send  it  to  the  saw 
mill,  and  he  has  it  returned  cut  up  to  the  thickness 
that  he  wishes,  in  a  very  short  time,  and  at  a  trifling 
expense. 

In  the  vicinity  of  London,  there  are  several  mills  for 
the  cutting  of  veneers;  but  we  do  not  know  that  there 
are  any  in  more  general  or  more  constant  employment 
than  one  we  have  had  an  opportunity  of  inspecting — 
that  of  Messrs.  Watson,  at  Battersea,  which  was  set 
up,  about  sixteen  years  ago,  by  Mr.  Brunei.  Their 
apparatus  is  driven  by  steam,  and  consists  of  a  num- 
ber of  circular  saws,  the  largest  of  which  is  eighteen 
feet  in  diameter.  One  side  of  those  saws  is  a  plane  kept 
perfectly  true,  by  a  strong  and  well  bound  frame-work, 
to  the  circumference  of  which  the  saw  is  attached. 
The  teeth  of  the  saw  are  rather  large  than  other- 
wise, in  order  that  it  may  not  clog  with  the  saw-dust, 
and  thus  tear  the  finer  veneers;  and  it  revolves 
with  considerable  velocity.  The  log  of  timber  which 
is  to  be  cut  into  veneers  is  fastened  upon  a  frame, 
with  the  piece  in  the  direction  in  which  it  is  to  be  cut, 
in  a  vertical  position.  The  frame  that  carries  forward 
the  log  is  moved  at  a  rate  which  may  be  varied 
according  to  the  quality  of  the  timber  that  is  cut. 
It  has  a  rack  on  the  under  part,  in  which  a 
pinion  works.  In  cutting  coarse  stuffs,  such  as  the 
soft  and  straight  grained  mahogany,  of  which  the 
bottoms  of  drawers,  and  other  internal  works  of  an 


172  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

inferior  kind,  are  made.,  the  log  moves  forward,  and 
the  veneer  is  cut  at  the  rate  of  about  one  foot 
of  length  in  four  seconds.  Allowing  the  depth  of 
the  log  to  be  two  feet,  the  quantity  of  veneer  taken 
off  would,  by  one  of  those  machines  alone,  be  two  • 
hundred  and  forty  square  feet  in  an  hour.  Where 
the  wood  is  harder,  or  of  more  value,  the  motion  is 
considerably  slower;  but,  even  then,  the  quantity  cut 
by  one  machine,  as  compared  with  that  which  sawyers 
would  cut  in  the  same  time,  is,  independently  of  the 
saving  of  wood,  and  the  superiority  of  the  veneers, 
almost  incredible  to  any  one  who  has  not  actually 
witnessed,  the  operation. 

The    circular   saw  of  eighteen  feet  diameter,   at 
Messrs.  Watson's  mill,  makes  thirty-two  revolutions  in 
a  minute.  We  observed  a  veneer  of  a  log  of  mahogany , 
four  feet  six  inches  long,  by  thirty-three  inches  wide, 
cut  in  eighty  seconds.     The  smaller  saw,  at  which 
inferior   timber    is   cut,   has  a    quicker    revolution, 
called  a  tumbling  motion;  and  by  this   we  noticed 
a  veneer  of  a  piece  of  mahogany  six  feet  six  inches 
long,  by  twelve  inches  wide,  cut  in  twenty-five  seconds. 
The  quantity  of  veneer  that  can,  by  means  of  these 
machines,  be  sawed  out  of  a  given  quantity  of  timber, 
is  astonishing.      Those  who  are  reckoned  respectable 
cabinet-makers  do  not,  in  general,  wish  to  have  more 
than  eight  or  nine  thicknesses  out  of  the  inch;  but 
those  who  manufacture  furniture  for  occasional  sale, 
and  are  in  consequence  indifferent  as  to  the  quality 
of  the  timber,  and  the  durability  of  their  work,  often 
have  the  inch  cut  into  fifteen  or  sixteen  thicknesses. 
The  extent  to  which  a  log  cut  in  this  last  manner 
would   extend,  is  wonderful.     Suppose  a  log  fifteen 
feet  long,  and  three  feet  in  each  of  its  other  dimen- 
sions,  cut   into   fifteen   thicknesses   to   the    inch,   it 
would  be  spread  out  to  the  vast  expanse  of  about  an 
acre  and  three  quarters;  and,  when  cut  for  the  more 


FANCY    WOODS.  173 

respectable  part  of  the  trade,  it  would  cover  nearly 
an  acre.  Now,  when  it  is  considered  that  the  maho- 
gany, or  other  wood  that  forms  the  most  beautiful 
surface,  is  seldom  that  which  is  the  best  adapted  for 
solid  work,  it  is  easy  to  be  conceived  how  much  ad- 
vantage must  result  from  this  invention. 

Veneering  in  fancy  woods  has  sometimes  been 
compared  to  gilding  and  plating,  but  the  process  does 
not  gain  by  the  comparison;  as  the  covering  of  one 
wood  with  another  is  a  much  nearer  approach  to 
solidity  than  the  covering  of  one  metal  with  another. 
While  the  cabinet  article  is  kept  in  such  a  state 
as  that  the  glue  is  not  dissolved,  the  covering  of 
beautiful  wood  does  not  wear  out;  and  thus  with  a 
vast  saving  in  the  more  costly  material,  there  is  the 
same  durability,  as  if  nothing  but  that  material  had 
been  used  for  the  whole.  There  is  another  advan- 
tage in  the  use  of  fancy-woods  on  the  surface;  the 
body  of  the  article  upon  which  the  fancy  wood  is 
laid  can  be  much  better  put  together  than  if  it  had 
formed  the  external  part  of  the  article.  Where 
that  is  the  case,  dovetails  6r  mortices  cannot  be 
wedged  without  an  external  seam;  but  in  veneering, 
the  body  of  the  article  can  be  put  together  with  every 
degree  of  care  and  strength,  and  the  veneer  will  hide 
the  whole. 

The  slightest  observation  of  the  domestic  life  of 
the  middle  and  humbler  classes  will  shew  that,  within 
the  last  thirty  years,  there  has  been  a  manifest  im- 
provement in  the  appearance  of  the  household  furni- 
ture of  this  country.  A  century  ago,  even  in  the 
mansions  of  the  rich,  though  there  was  occasional 
luxury  both  in  the  materials  and  the  forms  ol  their 
furniture,  much  of  it  was  mean  and  ill-fashioned. 
There  were,  indeed,  splendid  cabinets,  to  be  exhi- 
bited at  seasons  of  festivity,  filled  with  rare  porcelain 
and  laden  with  costly  plate;  but  the  table  for  ordi- 

VOL.   ir.  1.5* 


174          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

jf- 

nary  use  was  of  rough  unpolished  oak,  and  the  chairs 
were  equally  plain  and  unornamental.     The  Windsor 
chair,  made  of  elm,  and  a   heavy  deal  table,  were 
generally  found  in  the  tradesman's  parlour,  even  up 
to  a  somewhat  recent  period.     The  general  introduc- 
tion of  mahogany,  and  the   comparative   cheapness  of 
furniture  made   externally  of  this  beautiful  material, 
(principally  in  consequence  of  the  extreme  thinness 
into  which  veneers  can  be  cut,)  have  introduced  a 
more  elegant  description  of  furniture   even  into  the 
commonest   houses.       In   this,   there   is   a   national 
benefit.     A  taste  for  comforts  and  elegancies,  uni- 
versally diffused  throughout  society,  not  only  calls 
into  action  a  great  deal  of  mechanical  ingenuity,  and 
employs  considerable  capital,  but  it  gives  even  to  the 
humblest   a  sort  of  self-respect,  interior,  indeed,  to 
purer  motives,  but  still  operating  to  produce   some- 
thing of  independence,  and  a  desire  to  maintain  the 
possession  of  these  comforts  and  trifling  distinctions, 
by   honest   industry.     But  the  general    adoption   of 
articles  of  luxury,  such  as  well-made  furniture,  by 
the  bulk  of  the  people,  has  a  natural  tendency  to 
make  the  wealthy  desirous  of  procuring  articles  not 
so  accessible  to  the  many;  and,  in  this  way,  there  is 
a  constant  demand  not  only  for  new  patterns   in  fur- 
niture, but   for  new  materials  of  which  such  furniture 
should  be  made.     Our  commerce  with  all  the  known 
world   has  enabled  the  dealers  in  wood  constantly  to 
introduce   new   sorts;  and  even  our  native   timber, 
such  as  oak  and  elm,  by  the  ingenuity  of  the  work- 
man, has  been  converted  into  the  most  beautiful  and 
the  most  expensive  of  the  articles  of  common  use  by 
which  the  rich  are  surrounded.     The  large  roots  of 
a  fine  oak  have,  in  this  manner,  been  rendered  ex- 
tremely valuable;  and,  when  cut  into  small  veneers, 
and  inlaid  with  that  skill  which  constitutes  the  art  of 
the  cabinet-maker,  have  produced   very  high   prices 


FANCY    WOODS.  175 

when  manufactured  into  tables.  Mechanical  skill 
converts  the  commonest  materials  into  articles  of 
high  price;  and  this  is  one  of  the  best  directions 
which  can  be  given  to  the  luxury  of  an  age. 

Mahogany  is  of  universal  use  for  furniture,  from 
the  common  tables  of  a  village  inn  to  the  splendid 
cabinets  of  a  regal  palace.  But  the  general  adop- 
tion of  this  wood  renders  a  nice  selection  necessary 
for  those  articles  which  are  costly  and  fishiona  >le 
The  extensive  manufacture  of  piano-fort  ss  has  much 
increased  the  demand  for  mahogany.  This  musical 
instrument,  as  made  in  England,  is  superior  to  that 
of  any  other  part  of  Europe;  and  English  piano- 
fortes are  largely  exported.  The  beauty  of  the  case 
forms  a  point  of  great  importance  to  the  manufac- 
turer. This  circumstance  adds  nothing,  of  course, 
to  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  instrument;  but  it  is  of 
consequence  to  the  maker,  in  giving  an  adventitious 
quality  to  the  article  in  which  he  deals  Spanish 
mahogany  is  decidedly  the  most  beautiful;  but  occa- 
sionally, yet  not  very  often,  the  Honduras  wood  is  of 
singular  brilliancy;  and  it  is  then  eagerly  sought  for, 
to  be  employed  in  the  most  expensive  cabinet-work. 
A  short  time  ago,  Messrs.  Broadwood,  who  have 
long  been  distinguished  as  makers  of  piano-fortes, 
gave  the  enormous  sum  of  three  thousand  pounds 
ibr  three  logs  of  mahogany.  These  logs,  the  pro- 
duce of  one  tree,  were  each  about  fifteen  feet  long 
and  thirty-eight  inches  wide.  They  were  cut  into 
veneers  of  eight  to  an  inch.  The  wood,  of  which 
we  have  seen  a  specimen,  was  peculiarly  beautiful, 
capable  of  receiving  the  highest  polish;  and,  when 
polished,  reflecting  the  light  in  the  most  varied  man- 
ner, like  the  surface  of  a  crystal  ;  and,  from  the 
wavy  form  of  the  fibres,  offering  a  different  figure 
in  whatever  direction  it  was  viewed.  A  new  spe- 
cies of  mahogany  has  been  lately  introduced  in 


176          TEGETABLK  SUBSTANCES. 

cabinet-work,  which  is  commonly  called  Gambia.  As 
its  name  imports,  it  comes  from  Africa.  It  is  of  a 
beautiful  colour,  but  does  not  retain  it  so  long  as 
the  Spanish  and  Honduras  woods.  One  of  the  pe- 
culiar excellences  which  is  sought  for  by  cabinet- 
makers, consists  in  what  they  call  the  curl — the  direc- 
tion which  the  darker  parts  take  in  the  grain  of  the 
wood.  But  the  dealers,  although  they  introduce  an 
auger  before  they  buy  a  log,  are  seldom  enabled  to  de- 
termine, with  much  exactness,  the  quality  of  the  tim- 
ber. Although  mahogany  has  been  so  long  known  in 
commerce,  there  is  little  correspondence  between 
those  who  export  the  timber  and  those  who  purchase 
it  in  this  country;  and  thus  it  is  generally  a  matter 
of  chance  whether  the  manufacturer  may  purchase  a 
fine  or  an  inferior  commodity.  The  logs  which  pro- 
cured such  a  large  price  as  Messrs.  Broadwood  gave 
for  them,  were  particularly  celebrated,  and  were 
brought  to  this  country  with  a  knowledge  of  their 
worth. 

The  wood  most  in  use  for  cabinet-work,  next  to 
mahogany,  is  Rose-wood.  The  name  of  this  species 
of  wood  is  derived  from  its  fragrance;  and  it  has 
long  been  known  to  the  cabinet  makers  of  England 
and  France.  It  was  first  introduced,  it  is  said,  from 
the  isle  of  Cyprus  ;  though  the  great  supply  now 
comes  from  Brazil.  The  width  of  the  logs  im- 
ported into  this  country  averages  twenty-two  inches, 
so  that  it  must  be  the  produce  of  a  considerable  tree. 
The  wood  is  too  well  known  to  require  any  descrip- 
tion. The  more  distinct  the  darker  parts  are  from 
the  purple-red,  which  forms  the  ground,  the  more  is 
the  wood  esteemed.  It  is  ordinarily  cut  into  veneers 
of  nine  to  an  inch;  and  is  employed  in  this  way  for 
all  the  larger  furniture,  such  as  tables;  but  solid  for 
the  legs  of  chairs,  tables,  and  cabinets. 

King-wood  is   generally    used  for   small  cabinet- 


FANCY    WOODS.  177 

works,  and  for  borderings  to  those  which  are  larger. 
It  is  extremely  hard.     The  tree  which  produces  it  is 
small,    as    the    sticks    are    seldom   brought  to   this 
country    more  than   five  inches  wide  and  four   feet 
long.     Its    colour    is    of  a    chocolate  ground,  with 
black  veins;  sometimes  running  into  the  finest  lines, 
and  at   others  more   spread  over  the  ground,  as  in 
rose-wood.  The  botanical  name  of  the  tree  which  pro- 
duces this  wood,  is  not  known.     It  comes  from  Brazil. 
And  here  we  should  remark  the  exceedingly  im- 
perfect state  of  our  knowledge   with  regard  to   the 
species  of  trees  which  produce  the  Fancy-woods,  so 
extensively  used  in  cabinet-work  in  this  country.     It 
might  be  supposed  that  there  would  be  no  more  diffi 
culty  in  determining  the  botanical  names,and  deciding 
the  species  of  those  foreign  woods  which  are  used  in 
our    finer    sorts  of  furniture,  and    in    many    small 
articles  of  taste,   such  as  Tunbridge-ware,  than  in 
pointing  out  that  oak  is  used  in  ship-building,  and 
pine  in  the  construction  of  houses;  but  the  contrary 
is  the    fact.     The   attention  of  botanists  who  have 
described   the    productions  of    South    America    and 
Australasia,  from  which  these  fine  woods  come,  has 
not  been  directed  to  this  point;  and  the  commercial 
dealers  in  these  woods  have   paid  no   regard  to  it. 
It  would  be  well,  in  this  age  when  natural  history 
is  so  much  cultivated,  if  naturalists,  and  dealers  in 
foreign    timber,    would    combine    their     experience 
upon  this  subject,  and  supply   the   deficiency.     No 
knowledge  of  the  matter  can  be  procured  in  books; 
and  we   have  consulted  commercial  men,  and  prac- 
tical   botanists,    without    obtaining    any    information 
that  could  be  depended  upon,  though  each  agreed  in 
lamenting  that  a   subject  of  general  interest  should 
have  been  left  so  entirely  without  investigation.     Al- 
though  no   important  results  to   science  might  pro 
ceed  from  such  inquiries,  it  is  certainly  humiliating 


178          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

not  to  be  able  to  tell  with  precision  where  those 
materials  are  naturally  produced,  and  what  species  of 
trees  produce  them,  with  which  the  useful  arts  have 
surrounded  our  every-day  life. 

Beef-wood,  principally  used  in  forming  borders  to 
work  in  which  the  larger  woods  are  employed,  is 
intensely  hard  and  extremely  heavy.  Its  colour  is 
of  a  pale  red,  not  so  clouded  as  mahogany.  The 
timber  arrives  in  this  country  in  logs  of  about  nine 
feet  long  by  thirteen  or  fourteen  inches  wide.  The 
tree  which  produces  it  is  not  known  in  botanical 
description,  but  it  is  a  native  of  New  Holland. 

Tulip-wood  would  appear  to  be  the  produce  of  a 
tree  little  exceeding  the  character  of  a  shrub,  for  it 
arrives  here  in  sticks  of  about  five  inches  diameter, 
seldom  more  than  four  feet  in  length.  It  is  very 
hard,  and  of  a  clouded  red  and  yellow  colour.  Its 
principal  use  is  in  bordering;  though  it  is  employed 
in  smaller  articles,  such  as  caddies  and  ladies'  work- 
tables. 

Zebra-wood  is  the  produce  of  a  large  tree,  and 
we  receive  it  in  logs  of  two  feet  wide.  It  is  a  cheap 
wood,  and  is  employed  in  large  work,  as  tables. 
The  colour  is  somewhat  gaudy,  being  composed  of 
brown  on  a  white  ground,  clouded  with  black,  and 
each  strongly  contrasted,  as  its  name  imports,  de- 
rived, as  it  is,  from  the  colours  of  the  zebra. 

Coromandd-wood  is  used  in  large  works,  like  zebra 
and  rose  wood.  It  is  inferior  to  rose-wood  in  the 
brilliancy  and  division  of  its  colours,  having  a  dingy 
ground,  and  sometimes  running  into  white  streaks. 
The  tree  which  produces  it  is  of  a  large  size. 

Satin-wood  is  well  known  for  its  brilliant  yellow 
colour,  with  delicate  glowing  shades.  It  is  now  not 
much  used  in  cabinet-work.  The  timber  arrives 
here  in  logs  of  two  feet  wide,  and  seven  or  eight 
feet  long. 


FANCY    WOODS.  179 

Sandal-wood  is  of  a  light  brown  colour,  with 
brilliant  waves  of  a  golden  hue,  not  unlike  the  finest 
Honduras  mahogany.  It  is  about  the  same  size  as 
satin-wood. 

Jlmboyna-wood  is  now  very  much  used  in  cabinet- 
work. It  is  of  various  colours;  and  the  shades  are 
generally  small.  It  arrives  in  logs  of  two  feet  wide. 
Snakewood  is  extremely  hard,  of  a  deep  red 
colour,  with  black  shades.  It  is  principally  used  for 
bordering  and  small  work. 

Harewood  something  resembles  satin-wood  in  the 
arrangement  of  its  waves,  but  its  colour  is  different, 
being  of  a  light  brown  ground. 

Botany  Bay  Oak  forms  very  beautiful  furniture. 
The  ground  is  an  uniform  brown,  with  large  dark 
blotches. 

Ebomj  has  been  already  described.  Of  the  several 
cabinet-makers'  woods  bearing  this  name,  there 
are  the  African  cliff  ebony,  which  is  black,  with 
a  white  spot;  and  the  spotted  ebony,  a  very  beautiful 
wood,  and  extremely  hard  (more  so  than  the  common 
ebony),  of  which  the  ground  is  black,  with  brown 
and  yellow  spots. 

Jicker-wood  is  the  produce  of  a  large  tree,  and  is 
of  a  cinnamon  colour.  Canary-wood  is  of  a  golden 
yellow.  Purple-wood,  which  has  been  lately  intro- 
duced, is  of  a  purple  colour,  without  veins.  This 
appears  to  be  the  produce  of  a  thorn  of  tropical 
countries,  being  only  four  inches  wide.  These  three 
woods  have  been  little  used  in  furniture,  but  have 
been  lately  employed  in  mosaic  floors,  of  which 
there  are  two  now  constructing  at  Windsor  Castle, 
and  at  the  Buckingham  Palace.  Bird's-eye  Maple, 
(its  appearance  is  described  in  its  name,)  which  has 
also  been  so  employed,  is  a  narrow  and  long,  wood. 

Calamandcr  wood.  There  is  a  very  beautiful 
wood  of  this  name  growing  in  the  island  of  Ceylon, 
which,  when  wrought  into  furniture,  surpasses,  we 


180          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

think,  in  appearance  any  other  we  ever  saw.  We 
are  surprised  that  it  is  not  regularly  imported  into 
this  country:  all  that  is  here  has  been  brought  over 
by  private  gentlemen,  returning  from  that  colony,  for 
their  own  use.  The  wood  is  very  hard  and  heavy, 
and  of  singularly  remarkable  variety  and  admixture 
of  colours.  It  is  very  difficult  to  describe  this — nay 
impossible  to  convey  to  those  who  have  not  seen  it 
an  idea  of  the  manner  in  which  the  shades  run  into 
one  another.  The  most  prevailing  of  these  is  a  fine 
chocolate  colour,  now  deepening  almost  into  absolute 
black,  now  fading  into  a  medium  between  fawn  and 
cream  colours.  In  some  places,  however,  the  latter 
tint  is  placed  in  more  striking,  though  never  quite  hi 
sudden  contrast  with  the  richest  shades  of  the  brown. 
The  variations  are  sometimes  displayed  in  clustering 
mottles,  sometimes  in  the  most  graceful  streaks. 
There  is  not,  however,  anything  in  the  least  gaudy 
or  fantastic  in  the  general  result.  It  certainly  arrests 
the  eye — but  it  is  from  the  rich  beauty  of  the  inter- 
mingled colours,  not  from  any  undue  shewiness. 

This  wood  takes  a  very  high  polish.  It  is  wrought 
into  chairs,  and  particularly,  into  tables.  Nay,  we 
have  seen  large  folding  doors  made  of  it.  The  late 
Governor  of  Ceylon,  Sir  Robert  Brownrigg,  brought 
over  very  large  quantities  of  this  remarkable  product 
of  that  country  ;  and,  in  some  additions  he  has 
made  to  his  house  hi  Monmouthshire,  he  has  had  the 
doors  of  his  dining  room  constructed  of  calamander. 
The  effect  is  peculiarly  happy. 

We  are  told  that  the  tree  grows  to  the  usual  size 
of  a  forest-tree,  and  that  the  leaves  are  large,  and 
shaped  like  the  figure  of  a  club  on  a  playing-card. 
But  our  informant  says,  he  never  saw  the  tree 
growing  but  once,  and  that  he  speaks  from  an  im- 
perfect recollection. 

Partridge,  Leopard,  and  Porcupine  woods,  are 
very  rarely  used.  Their  names  are  derived  from  a 


FANCY    WOODS.  181 

•^^ 

supposed  similarity  of  their   colours  to  those  of  the 
animals  whose  denominations  they  bear. 

A  return  of  the  Custpm-house  duties  for  1827, 
ordered  by  the  House  of  Commons  to  be  printed,  on 
the  16th  of  April,  1829,  gives  some  data  for  ascer- 
taining the  quantities  of  ornamental  wood  imported 
into  the.  United  Kingdom  during  1827.  In  some 
instances,  however,  the  quantity  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained from  the  return,  as  the  duty  is  different  when 
the  import  is  from  different  places. 

Mahogany.  The  duty  on  mahogany  is  stated  at 
68,730/.,  being  at  the  rate  of  2/.  10s.  from  Honduras 
and  the  Bahamas;  41.  from  Jamaica;  and  71.  from 
other  places.  Now,  taking  the  average  duty  at  4/., 
which  is  not  very  far  from  the  truth,  that  makes  the 
whole  quantity  of  mahogany  imported  in  1827  amount 
to  about  seventeen  thousand  tons,  or  as  much  as 
would  load  fifteen  line  of  battle  ships. 

Rosewood  is  subjected  to  a  duty  of  101.  per  ton; 
and  the  duty  upon  it  was  7280J.  for  1827,  which 
makes  the  quantity  seven  hundred  and  twenty-eight 
tons, — trifling  as  compared  with  the  quantity  of  maho- 
gany, but  still  very  considerable. 

Zebra  'is  classed  with  king  wood,  and  some  of  the 
other  ornamental  kinds  that  come  from  Brazil,  though 
the  duties  be  different,  2/.  per  ton  on  the  Zebra,  and 
51.  on  the  others.  The  duty  on  these  woods  is  630/., 
and,  taking  the  average,  the  quantity  may  be  about 
two  hundred  tons. 

Box  pays  a  duty  of  1 1.  from  British  plantations, 
and  51.  from  other  places.  The  duty  for  1827  was 
2180/.,  and  the  quantity  about  eight  hundred  tons. 

Ebony.  The  quantity  of  ebony  cannot  be  ascer- 
tained, or  even  approximated  from  the  return,  as  the 
duty  upon  what  is  called  ebony,  varies  from  31.  to 
10/.  per  ton;  the  total  duty  was  about  170/. 

VOL.   n.  16 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

GENERAL  QUALITIES  OF  TIMBER, 
AND  SOME  OF  THE  MORE  REMARK- 
ABLE APPLICATIONS  OF  IT.— FOR- 
ESTS, AND  PLANTING. 

As  the  qualities  of  the  different  species  of  timber 
compared  with  each  other  have  been  mentioned  in 
the  individual  notices,  little  else  will  be  necessary 
here  than  a  mere  catalogue  of  some  of  the  leading 
properties. 

Oak  is  best  on  soils  where  it  is  the  longest  in 
coming  to  maturity;  and  when  two  specimens  are 
equally  seasoned,  their  value  may  be  ascertained  by 
trying  which,  bulk  for  bulk,  is  the  heavier;  or  by 
soaking  them  in  water  till  they  can  contain  no  more, 
(and  one  very  effectual  way  of  doing  this  is  by  fixing 
a  disc  of  oak  cut  across  the  grain,  in  a  cylindrical 
jar  containing  a  quantity  of  water  from  the  top,  and 
exhausting  the  lower  part  of  the  jar  by  an  air-pump) ; 
and  the  one  which  is  the  heaviest  in  the  dry  way,  or 
has  its  weight  the  least  increased  by  the  water,  is  the 
best.  If  an  oak  be  dead  at  the  main  top,  the  centre 
of  the  tree  is  sure  to  be  in  a  state  either  of  actual  or 
of  incipient  decay;  and  it  is  not  safe  to  use  any  part 
of  it  for  purposes  where  durability  or  strength  is  re- 
quired. The  same  holds  true  of  all  deciduous  trees — 
evergreens  are  not  so  liable  to  be  hollow,  though  many 
of  them  become  so  in  the  course  of  a  very  long  time. 
An  oak,  or  indeed  almost  any  other  tree  that  grows 
singly,  or  on  the  outside  of  the  forest,  is  always  more 
firm  and  durable  than  one  which  grows  within  the 
forest,  and  is  partially  sheltered;  and  the  more  vari- 
able the  climate  is,  not  so  much  with  regard  to 
seasons  as  to  shorter  periods,  the  timber  is  the  more 


GENERAL    QUALITIES    OF    TIMBER.  183 

firm  and  durable.  An  oak  which  stands  alone  on  a 
hill  side,  exposed  to  the  variable  weather  of  Britain, 
will,  as  timber,  outlast  two  from  the  thick  forests  of 
Germany,  or  three  from  North  America,  where  the 
summer  is  intensely  hot,  and  without  a  cloud  for 
many  weeks  together. 

Trees  which  are  to  be  used  as  timber,  should  be 
felled  in  the  early  part  of  the  winter  when  the  sap  is 
at  rest;  because,  when  the  sap  is  in  motion,  the 
trees  are  apt  to  bleed,  by  which  the  durability  of  the 
timber  is  diminished.  This  applies  to  pines  as  well 
as  to  deciduous  trees  ;  for  though  they  and  other 
evergreens  retain  their  leaves  during  the  winter 
months,  they  do  not  vegetate  at  that  season.  On 
account  of  the  value  of  the  bark,  however,  which 
cannot  well  be  removed  from  winter-felled  trees, 
there  is  a  great  temptation  to  fell  oaks  in  the  early 
part  of  the  summer.  In  coppices,  or  hags,  where 
the  bark  is  the  principal  object,  and  the  wood  is  to  be 
used  for  charcoal  or  for  common  purposes,  there  is 
of  course  no  harm  in  cutting  down  during  the  season 
of  vegetation;  but  a  summer-felled  oak  ought  never 
to  be  introduced  into  a  ship,  or  into  the  timbers  of  a 
valuable  permanent  building. 

Oak  grown  on  damp  situations  decays  much 
sooner  than  that  which  grows  on  dry,  and  the  decay 
is  from  the  outside  gradually  to  the  centre.  This, 
however,  is  to  be  understood  of  timber  which  has 
been  felled  before  beginning  to  decays  for  if  decay 
be  begun,  the  timber  rots  first  at  the  centre. 

Oak  is  best  seasoned  in  water,  or  rather  in  water 
and  in  air  alternately,  taking  care  not  to  expose  it  so 
to  the  sun  during  the  dryings  as  that  it  shall  champ 
and  split.  A  large  beam  of  oak  ought  to  soak  for 
at  least  twelve  months,  but  half  that  time  will  do  for 
planks.  It  is  often  the  practice  to  season  planks  by 
boiling  and  steaming;  and  when  they  have  to  be 


184  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

curved  or  twisted,  as  in  the  bends  of  a  ship,  steam- 
ing is  indispensable;  but  the  heat  and  moisture  to- 
gether always  weaken  that  constituent  principle  of 
the  timber  upon  which  its  strength  and  durability  in 
a  great  measure  depend. 

Ash  is  a  bad  timber  for  any  purpose  in  building, 
whether  for  dry  or  aquatic  purposes,  because  it  nei- 
ther stands  moisture  nor  the  weather.  Beech  also  is 
a  bad  timber  for  building,  though  when  wholly  under 
water  it  is  durable.  Elm  is  quite  unfit  for  building, 
because  of  its  tendency  to  warp  and  shrink  with 
drought,  and  expand  with  moisture;  but  when  wholly 
tinder  water,  it  answers  well;  and  bolts  and  nails 
drive  better  into  it  than  into  any  other  timber.  Beech 
and  elm  answer  remarkably  well  for  the  external  or 
lower  keels  of  ships,  and  also  for  the  planks  nearest 
the  keel,  as  these  are  seldom  exposed  to  the  air: 
the  same  qualities  fit  them  for  being  used  as 
piles  in  the  construction  of  bridges  and  harbours; 
though  they  should  never  be  used  above  the  low 
water  mark. 

The  different  species  of  poplar,  the  sycamore,  the 
lime,  and  the  birch  are,  generally  speaking,  unfit  for 
building,  being  neither  strong  nor  durable;  birch  is 
indeed  very  tough,  but  it  is  more  subject  to  worm 
than  almost  any  other  timber,  and  moisture  soon 
rots  it.  Lime,  however,  is  much  the  best  timber  for 
carving,  and  poplar  answers  very  well  for  the  board- 
ings of  stairs. 

The  properties  of  chesnut  have  already  been 
pretty  extensively  mentioned.  It  is  probably  the 
best  of  the  building  timbers,  though  it  has  been  un- 
accountably neglected  in  this  country.  Our  ances- 
tors did  more  justice  to  it;  and  some  of  the  finest 
specimens  of  ancient  carpentry,  both  in  scientific 
construction,  and  in  tasteful  execution,  are  made  of 
it.  When  old,  it  is  not  very  easily  distinguished  from 


APPLICATIONS    OP    TIMBER.  185 

oak,  but  its  colour  is  finer,  and  it  does  not  stain  by 
the  contact  of  iron,  which  is  always  the  case  with  oak 
when  moisture  gets  access  to  it. 

Mahogany  is  too  costly  and  too  ponderous  for  its 
strength,  to  be  used  as  a  building  timber.  But,  when 
well  seasoned,  it  warps  and  shrinks  less  by  the  heat 
of  the  sun  than  any  other  wood  ;  and  therefore  it  is 
the  best  timber  for  sign-boards.  It  is  also  excellent 
for  doors  and  window-frames,  but  too  expensive  for 
ordinary  occasions.  The  Bay  wood  from  the  main 
land  of  America,  and  the  Spanish  wood  from  the 
islands — chiefly  from  Cuba  ami  Hayti,  and  formerly 
from  Jamaica  also — are  easily  distinguished,  before 
they  are  oiled  and  varnished.  The  pores  of  bay  wood 
are  dark  coloured  ;  those  of  Spanish  seem  filled 
with  a  chalky  matter. 

Fir,  when  of  the  best  quality,  has  some  advantages 
over  oak  for  the  purposes  of  common  building  :  it 
is  lighter,  far  more  elastic,  more  easily  worked, 
straighter,  and  of  much  greater  length.  The  best 
that  comes  in  the  form  of  deals  is  from  Christiania 
arm  Frederickstadt,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  vast 
superiority  of  the  saw-mills  there.  The  fir  of  Nor- 
way has  also  been  long  celebrated  for  masts;  and 
though  more  weighty,  it  is  far  more  durable  than 
that  obtained  from  America. 

APPLICATIONS  OF  TIMBER. 

The  structures  in  which  timber  has  been  employed, 
which  have  been,  or  are,  the  most  remarkable  for 
their  magnitude  and  utility,  are  roofs  of  buildings, 
bridges  and  piers,  light-houses,  and  ships.  For  all 
of  these,  timber  appears  to  have  been  principally 
used  before  the  introduction  of  any  other  material, 
in  every  .place  where  it  could  be  obtained:  and, 
notwithstanding  the  use  of  stone  pretty  generally 
for  piers,  and  since  the  invention  of  the  arch, 

VOL.    II.  16* 


18G  VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

often  for  bridges,  and  occasionally  for  roofs,  and  the 
more  recent  introduction  of  iron  for  some  of  those 
purposes,  wooden  structures  are  met  with  in  all  coun- 
tries, of  vast  dimensions,  and  often  of  great  strength 
and  beauty. 

ROOFS,  &c. 

In  modern  roofing,  the  timbers  of  the  roof  are 
generally  hid  by  a  ceiling,  so  that  strength  only  is 
attended  to;  while  in  more  ancient  times,  the  timber 
itself  was  made  at  once  both  ornamental  and  useful  : 
and  in  very  large  apartments,  such  as  the  ban- 
queting halls  of  the  kings  and  barons  of  the  middle 
ages,  it  had  the  advantage  in  point  both  of  grandeur 
and  apparent  stability.  An  extended  flat  ceiling  ap- 
pears to  hang  in  the  air;  while  in  an  ancient  roof, 
like  that  of  Westminster-hall,  the  support  of  every 
piece  of  timber  is  apparent,  and  the  only  strain 
which  appears  directly  across  the  timber,  is  on  the 
boards  and  rafters  between  the  great  trusses. 

Westminster-hall  is  the  largest  roof  of  the  ancient 
construction,  any  where  to  be  met  with;  and  it  is  dif- 
ficult to  imagine  a  work  of  human  art  which  pos- 
sesses, in  so  equal  a  degree,  the  three  requisites  of 
beauty,  strength,  and  durability.  This  hall  was  built 
by  William  II.  (Rufus),  in  the  year  1097;  it  was 
originally  intended  as  a  banqueting  hall;  and  the 
monarch  is  said  to  have  held  a  magnificent  feast  in  it 
on  the  Whitsuntide  after  its  erection.  Stowe  adds, 
that  ample  as  are  the  dimensions  of  the  hall,  it  did 
not  satisfy  the  ambition  of  the  king,  who  observed, 
"  This  halle  is  not  bigge  enough  by  one  half,  and  is 
but  a  bed-chamber  in  comparison  of  that  I  minde  to 
make."  And  Stowe  adds,  "  a  diligent  searcher 
might  yet  find  out  the  foundation  of  the  hall,  which 
he  hadde  proposed  to  build,  stretching  from  the  river 
Thames  even  to  the  common  highway."  All  traces 


APPLICATIONS    OF    TIMBER.  187 

of  this  are  of  course  now  obliterated,  and  the  exist- 
ing hall  is  left  without  even  an  intended  rival.  It  is 
two  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet  long,  and  seventy- 
four  feet  wide;  and,  though  the  original  proportions 
have  been  a  little  deranged  by  the  raising  of  the  floor, 
— which  became  necessary,as  the  vast  accumulation  of 
ships  in  the  river  downwards,  probably  the  deposi- 
tion of  silt  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  and  certainly  the 
erection  of  London  Bridge,  (about  one  hundred 
years  afterwards,)  caused  the  old  floor  to  be  over- 
flowed during  floods,^-it  is  still  a  graceful  structure. 
The  roof  of  Westminster-hall  is  formed  of  chesnut, 
and  does  not  appear  to  be  in  the  least  decayed.  This 
great  hall  was,  however,  enlarged,  and  had  its  pre- 
sent roof  constructed,  in  the  time  of  Richard  II., 
who,  in  the  profusion  of  that  expenditure  which  led 
to  Wat  Tyler's  insurrection,  is  reported  to  have 
feasted  ten  thousand  guests  under  this  roof.  West- 
minster-hall is  now  set  apart  for  the  most  solemn 
state  purposes, — such  as  the  trial  of  persons  im- 
peached by  the  Commons;  and  banquets  at  th'e 
coronations  of  kings. 

;The  Parliament-house  in  Edinburgh,  though  a 
much  smaller  and  more  recent  structure  than  West- 
minster-hall, has  also  a  fine  roof  of  the  ancient  de- 
scription. The  Parliament-house  is  one  hundred 
and  twenty-two  feet  in  length,  and  forty-nine  in 
breadth.  The  erection  of  it  was  completed  in  the 
year  1640;  it  was  built  at  an  expense  of  1600/., 
by  the  corporation  of  Edinburgh;  and  is  used  partly 
as  an  ante-room  to  the  courts  of  justice,  and  partly 
as  a  place  of  resort  for  the  inhabitants.  The 
trusses  and  roof,  generally  speaking,  are  of  oak; 
they  have  not  the  massive  grandeur  of  those  in 
Westminster-hall,  and  .the  effect  is  injudiciously 
broken  by  gilding. 


188  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

In  many  places  there  are  still  roofs  of  this  con- 
struction, though  few  of  the  dimensions  of  that  at 
Edinburgh,  and  none  equal  to  Westminster-hall. 
Wherever  these  roofs  are  found,  they  are  built 
not  only  of  the  best  sorts  of  timber,  but  of  timber 
very  superior  of  its  kind.  In  Scotland,  they  are 
generally  of  oak;  and  the  oak  of  that  country,  be- 
fore it  was  cut'  down  almost  to  extermination  in  the 
lowland  countries,  was  very  compact  and  durable. 
In  England,  several  are  of  chesnut,  and  some,  we 
believe,  of  walnut  tree ;  both  of  which  are,  in  hard- 
ness, durability,  and  beauty,  well  fitted  for  the  pur- 
pose. 

The  Riding-house  at  Moscow  has  the  largest  roof 
of  a  modern  construction,  and  probably  occupies 
the  largest  area  that  ever  was  covered  by  a  single 
roof,  unsupported  by  cross  walls,  or  pillars.  The 
length  is  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  twenty 
feet,  and  the  span  of  the  roof  two  hundred  and 
thirty-five;  the  floor  has  the  vast  extent  of  more 
than  ten  English  acres.  This  enormous  roof 
was  supported  by  a  ponderous  rib  of  timber,  of 
a  curved  form,  and  made  up  of  three  smaller 
ones,  strongly  bolted  and  strapped  with  iron.  The 
tie-beam  by  which  this  immense  rib  was  pre- 
vented from  separating  at  the  extremities,  consisted 
of  seven  lengths  of  the  largest  timber,  and  the 
whole  truss  thus  formed  was  stiffened  by  cross-pieces 
and  strutts.  The  weight  was  so  great,  however,  that 
the  tie-beam  swagged,  or  bent  downwards,  until  the 
whole  truss  had  the  appearance  of  two  curves  joined 
at  their  extremities.  This  roof  was  constructed 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Emperor  Paul,  then  Grand 
Duke,  in  the  year  1790. 

The  span  or  width  of  the  roof  of  the  Theatre  at 
Oxford,  is  seventy  feet,  and  the  length  eighty;  but 


APPLICATIONS     OF    TIMBER.  189 

the  durability  has  not  been  corresponding  ;  for- 
the  roof  had  to  be  replaced  in  1802.  The  ori- 
ginal architect  was  Sir  Christopher  Wren;  and  the 
roofing  was  long  considered  as  a  masterpiece  of 
carpentry. 

The  Basilica  of  St.Paul  at  Rome  has  a  roof  of  large 
dimensions,  the  span  being  more  than  seventy-eight 
feet.  It  is  framed  of  fir.  The  trusses  are  double,  and 
placed  about  fifteen  inches  asunder,  which  gives  it 
probably  more  stability,  than  if  they  were  strapped 
and  bound  into  single  masses. 

The  Theatre  d'Jlrgentino,  also  in  Rome,  is  of  still 
larger  dimensions,  the  span  of  the  roof  being  more 
than  eighty  feet.  This  roof  is  also  of  fir,  and  sup- 
ports the  weight  of  the  whole  machinery  of  the  theatre. 

The  number  of  roofs  of  large  span  that  have  re- 
cently been  constructed,  is  very  considerable.  Per- 
haps one  of  the  strongest  is  that  of  Drury  Lane 
theatre,  which  has  a  span  of  eighty-three  feet  and 
three  inches,  within  the  walls.  The  trusses  of  this 
roof  are  fifteen  feet  apart,  and  they  are  so  judiciously 
constructed,  that  each  truss  can  bear  a  load  of  three 
hundred  tons.  The  roof  of  the  chapel  at  Green- 
wich Hospital,  constructed  by  Mr.  Wyatt,  is  one 
of  the  finest  specimens,  and  perhaps  contains 
less  superfluous  timber  than  most  of  the  others 
of  the  same  span  and  carrying  the  same  weight. 
A  new  roof  put  upon  the  church  of  St.  Paul,  Co- 
vent  Garden,  in  1796,  also  shews  the  progress  of 
modern  art  in  this  very  important  department  of 
carpentry.  The  trusses  are  as  strong  as  those 
in  the  original  roof,  contrived  by  Inigo  Jones,  and 
yet  each  of  them  contains  eighty  cubic  feet  less 
timber.  Indeed,  in  no  one  department  of  the  arts, 
has  the  application  of  scientific  principles  tended 
more  to  lessen  the  quantity  of  materials,  than  in  the 
construction  of  large  roofs;  and  this  has  a  treble 


190  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

advantage,  as  it  lessens  the  cost  of  the  roof  itself, 
its  pressure  upon  the  walls,  and  its  tendency  to  break 
by  its  own  weight. 

The  use  of  timber  in  the  chief  construction  of 
houses  is  well  known.  Some  of  those  in  England 
and  Wales,  that  are  framed  with  oak  beams,  and  filled 
with  bricks  or  plaster,  are  both  strong  and  hand- 
some. In  Switzerland,  the  houses  constructed  of 
larch  last  for  many  ages.  Wooden  houses  are  very 
common  in  America;  and  in  the  pine  countries  of 
Europe  they  are  almost  universal,  except  for  palaces 
and  public  buildings.  In  the  interior  of  Russia, 
ready-made  houses  are  sold  at  the  fairs.  They  are 
carried  to  the  fair,  and  there  set  up  ;  and  when  the 
purchaser  has  selected  one  to  his  mind,  it  is  taken  to 
pieces  and  removed  to  the  situation  destined  for  it. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  wooden  houses  in 
England  was  the  Nonsuch-house  at  the  north  en- 
trance of  London-bridge.  It  occupied  two  piers  with 
the  interverning  arch;  and  was  fantastically  hatched 
and  carved,  with  projecting  towers  at  the  angles 
and '  over  the  gateways,  finished  with  cupolas  at 
the  top.  This  singular  structure  overhung  the 
river  both  upwards  and  downwards,  and  if  it  had 
little  elegance,,  it  was  abundantly  grotesque.  The 
Nonsuch-house  was  imported  ready  made  from  Hol- 
land. It  was  wholly  of  timber,  even  to  the  fasten- 
ings, which  were  wooden  pegs — there  not  being  a 
nail  in  the  whole  structure. 

WOODEN  BRIDGES. 

Wooden  Bridges  have  been  resorted  to  in  all  ages ; 
and  wherever  there  are  trees  to  be  found,  bridges 
formed  of  them  are  also  to  be  met  with,  from  the 
simple  log  or  trunk  thrown  across  a  mountain  tor- 
rent, to  some  of  the  most  scientific  and  tasteful  struc- 
tures that  art  has  produced.  In  Sweden  and  Nor- 


APPLICATIONS     OF    TIMBER.  191 

way,  where  the  ravines  are  often  very  deep,  where 
the  rivers  and  torrents  are  apt  to  swell  high  and  ra- 
pidly during  rain,  and  where  timber  is  abundant  and 
costs  little,  wooden  bridges  of  considerable  extent 
are  frequently  to  be  found.  Some  of  these,  in 
consequence  of  the  wild  rocks  upon  which  they  are 
made,  the  large  dimensions  of  the  undressed  trees, 
and  their  great  height  above  the  water,  have  a  very 
striking  appearance.  The  following  description  of 
such  a  bridge  is  from  Dr.,  Clarke: —  . 

"  Before  our  arrival  at  Skale,  the  noise  of  roaring 
waters  again  announced  the  vicinity   of  a  cataract. 
We  were  in  the  midst  of  a  gloomy  forest;   but  all  at 
once,  the  dark   scenery  of  the    surrounding   woods 
opened  upon  such  a  view  of  the   Ljusna,  as  no  pen 
can  describe:     it  burst   upon   us  in   all  its    terrific 
grandeur;   the  whole  tide  collected    from  all  its  tri- 
butary lakes  and  rivers,   throughout  its  course  from 
the  Norwegian  Alps,   in  one   vast  torrent,  clamour- 
ously  foaming   and  rushing  to  the   Bothnian   Gulph. 
A  bridge,  constructed  of  whole  trunks  of  fir-trees, 
divested   only   of  their    bark,  stretched    across   this 
furious  torrent,  to  the  distance  of  one  hundred  yards; 
presenting   one   of    the  most     picturesque     objects 
imaginable.     Above  this  bridge,  the  river  is  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  broad;   and,  growing  wider  as  it  recedes 
from  the  eye  of  a  person  here   placed,  it  is  distantly 
divided   by  promontories,  projecting    from  its   sides 
until  they  almost  meet,  and  covered  with  tall  trees; 
thereby  forming  straits  which  connect  it  with  other 
seeming  lakes,  equally  beautiful,  beyond  them;   and 
which  appear  more  remotely  terminated   by  a  ridge 
of    mountains,  closing  the   prospect.      But,  in  this 
amazing  spectacle,   all   is  freshness  and  animation; 
the  utmost  liveliness,  and  light   and  elegance,  exhi- 
bited by  th^  distant  sheets  of  water,  combined  with 
all  the  energy  and  tremendous  force  of  the  cataract, 


192          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

making  the  bridge  upon  which  the  spectator  stands 
shake  under  his  feet,  as  if  it  were  rocked  by  an 
earthquake." 

The  bridge  of  Schaffhausen,  across  the  Rhine 
at  the  town  of  Schaffhausen,  was  one  of  the 
most  celebrated  of  wooden  bridges  ;  and  the  cele- 
brity was  the  greater,  on  account  of  the  architect 
being  an  illiterate  man,  who  was  not  likely  to  have 
derived  much  profit  from  the  works  that  had  been 
written  upon  the  subject.  This  architect  was  Ulric  Gru- 
benman.  The  construction  of  the  SchafThausen  bridge 
was  his  first  effort;  but  he  was  afterwards  employed 
in  various  other  structures  of  the  same  description. 
The  width  of  the  Rhine  at  Schaffhausen  is  three 
hundred  and  sixty-four  feet;  and  the  main  framing 
of  the  bridge  was  thrown  into  the  form  of  a  single 
arch,  although  a  pier  in  the  centre  of  the  river 
divided  the  water-way  into  two  parts,  and  also 
afforded  material  support  to  the  structure.  In  this 
bridge  there  are  regular  uprights  about  seven- 
teen feet  and  a  half  apart,  and  they  were  crossed  by 
braces  resting  on  the  abutments,  and  inclining  to- 
wards the  centre  of  the  bridge.  There  were  also 
braces  radiating  from  the  central  pier,  some  of  them 
below  the  roadway,  extending  to  thirty-five  feet  on 
each  side,  and  others  above.  The  whole  bridge  was 
covered  by  a  ponderous  roof.  The  principal  beams 
in  the  roadway  were  joggled  throughout  the  whole 
length  with  indentures,  like  the  teeth  of  two  sets  of 
saws,  and  they  were  tightened  by  wedges  at  each  of 
the  cross  faces.  There  were  also  iron  ties  from  the 
beam  that  formed  the  eaves  of  the  roof,  to  the  prin- 
cipal beam  of  the  floor,  which  tended  to  stiffen  the 
bridge  for  about  a  fourth  part  at  each  extremity  of 
each  of  the  divisions.  Some  parts  of  this  bridge 
were  overloaded  with  timber;  but  the*whole  of  it 
evinced  a  very  considerable  and  even  uncommon 


APPLICATIONS     OF     TIMBER.  193 

degree  of  skill,  in  balancing  strains  against  each  other, 
so  as  to  insure  both  steadiness  and  strength.  The 
principal  fault  in  this  celebrated  bridge  consisted  hi 
many  of  the  timbers  being  of  great  length,  so  as 
not  to  admit  of  being  easily  replaced  in  case  of 
decay.  It  was  burned  down  by  the  French  army  in 
the  year  1799;  and  has  since  been  replaced  by  a  more 
simple  wooden  bridge,  in  which  the  water-way  is  di- 
vided into  three  parts  by  two  piers,  and  the  road  is 
said  to  be  wider  and  more  convenient. 

Several  other  wooden  bridges  were  constructed  by 
Ulric  Grubenman,  by  his  brother  John,  or  by  the 
two  together.  Of  these,  John  built  a  bridge  over 
the  Rhine,  near  Richenau,  of  two  hundred  and 
forty  feet  span;  and  the  two  brothers  erected  another 
of  two  hundred  feet  across  the  Limmat,  near  Baden. 
Both  these  bridges  resembled,  in  their  general 
framing,  the  bridge  at  Schaffhausen.  Ulric,  however, 
constructed  one  somewhat  differently;  it  was  two 
hundred  and  thirty  feet  span.  In  this  bridge  there 
were  no  diverging  braces.  The  abutments  were 
twenty-five  feet  high,  and  the  arch  between  them  was 
a  catenary, — that  is,  the  same  form  which  a  rope  or 
flexible  chain  assumes  by  its  own  weight,  when  hung 
over  two  fixed  pegs.  This  arch  was  of  course  in- 
verted, in  the  same  manner  as  the  iron  chain  bridges 
that  have  recently  been  constructed  in  this  country; 
and  making  allowance  for  the  difference  of  materials, 
and  the  mode  of  the  junction,  it  may  be  fair  perhaps 
to  consider  it  as  the  first  chain  bridge  that  ever  was 
constructed  in  Europe.  The  two  catenarian  arches 
from  which  the  roadway  was  suspended  were  formed 
of  beams  of  oak,  in  lengths  of  from  twelve  to  fourteen 
feet;  there  were  seven  thicknesses  of  them  above 
each  other,  and  they  were  so  contrived  as  to  break 
bond  like  masonry,  so  that  there  should  never  be  two 
vertical  joints  in  the  same  section,  and  they  were 
strongly  bolted  and  bonded  together.  Probably  for 

VOL.    II.  17 


194  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

a  large  span  this  is  one  of  the  happiest  inventions  for 
a  wooden  bridge,  since  the  descending  catenary  ha£ 
much  less  vibration  than  a  rising  arch,  and  since  any 
one  piece,  as  it  decayed,  may  be  removed  and  re- 
placed, without  injury  to  the  structure. 

Some  wooden  bridges  of  very  superior  construc- 
tion have  been  erected  in  Scotland,  by  Mr.  James 
Burn,  of  Haddington:  one  of  these  is  across  the  river 
Don,  about  seven  miles  from  the  city  of  Aberdeen, 
and  on  the  road  leading  to  Banff.  This  bridge  con- 
sists of  a  single  arch  of  nearly  one  hundred  and 
ten  feet  span,  and  something  more  than  thirty  feet 
rise.  The  supporting  part  of  it  is  formed  of  a 
series  of  frames,  each  set  being  made  double,  or  at 
about  four  inches  from  each  other,  and  of  short 
lengths  of  timber,  so  that  any  piece  of  a  frame,  or 
even  a  whole  frame,  may  be  removed,  when  repairs 
are  necessary,  without  endangering  the  bridge  or 
interrupting  the  roadway.  They  are  kept  from  lateral 
vibration,  by  transverse  struts  and  ties  under  the 
planking  of  the  road,  and  the  surface  is  finished  with 
gravel.  Another  bridge  by  the  same  artist,  and 
across  the  same  river,  at  a  shorter  distance  from 
Aberdeen,  consists  of  two  arches,  each  nearly  seventy- 
two  feet  in  span,  and  having  a  rise  of  only  ten  feet 
and  a  half.  Mr.  Burn  has  also  constructed  a  very 
handsome  wooden  bridge  across  the  South  Esk, 
in  the  park  at  Brechin  castle ;  it  consists  of  three 
arches,  the  middle  one  thirty-eight  feet  span,  with  a 
rise  of  only  ten  feet.  This  bridge  has  the  spandrils 
boarded  and  drawn  out,  and  sanded  in  imitation  of 
stone,  so  that,  until  closely  examined,  it  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  stone  bridge  of  a  very  light  and  hand- 
some construction.  Those  bridges  by  Mr.  Bum 
possess  a  peculiar  advantage,  in  the  shortness  of  the 
timber  of  which  the  framing  is  composed.  This 
gives  them  greater  stiffness  with  a  less  scantling ; 


APPLICATIONS    OF    TIMBER.  195 

and  thus,  while  they  are  equally  strong  with  weightier 
bridges  of  long  timber,  they  are  not  so  apt  to  loosen 
at  the  abutments  by  shrinking  and  expansion,  and 
they  can  be  repaired  with  less  hazard  and  at  much 
less  expense. 

It  is  rather  singular  that  the  wooden  bridges  on 
the  river  Thames,  in  the  near  vicinity  of  the  British 
metropolis,  are  at  once  the  most  clumsy  and  the 
most  totally  destitute  of  any  thing  like  scientific  prin- 
ciple in  their  construction.  The  bridges  that  we  more 
immediately  allude  to  are  those  at  Chelsea,  or,  as  it  is 
now  called,  Battersea,  and  Fulham.  Fulham  bridge 
is  the  more  ancient  structure;  and  that  it  should  be 
destitute  of  even  the  least  display  of  constructive  skill, 
is  the  more  singular,  considering  the  mechanical 
talents  of  the  designer.  It  was  contrived  by  Chesel- 
den,  the  eminent  surgeon  and  anatomist,  who  was, 
perhaps,  the  first  Englishman  that  wrote  scientifically 
and  at  the  same  time  intelligibly,  on  the  mechanics 
and  statics  of  the  human  body;  and  yet  there  is  not 
one  principle  in  his  bridge,  except  the  mere  inert 
strength  of  the  timber.  The  length  of  this  bridge 
is  seven  hundred  and  eighty-nine  feet,  and  the 
breadth  twenty-four;  the  cost  was  at  least  twenty- 
three  thousand  pounds.  It  is  hardly  possible  to 
imagine  a  more  clumsy  and  tasteless  structure,  or  one 
(constructed  of  wood)  that  could  offer  more  interrup- 
tion to  the  navigation  of  the  river,  or  suffer  more 
itself  from  the  action  of  the  ice  in  severe  winters;  nor 
is  there  the  least  doubt  that  if  the  learned  contriver 
had  but  bestowed  on  it  a  tenth  part  of  the  mechani- 
cal skill  displayed  by  the  unlettered  Ulric  Gruben- 
man,  in  the  bridge  of  Schaffhausen,  an  elegant  struc- 
ture of  three  or  four  arches  might  have  been  formed, 
of  little  more  than  half  the  timber,  which  would 
have  been  at  once  far  more  convenient  for  the  navi- 
gation, and  not  have  cost  half  the  sum  in  repairs.  The 


196  VE(}ETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

bridge  at  Battersea  is  not  much  better,  though  it  be 
a  comparatively  recent  erection.  Fulham  bridge  was 
completed  in  1729;  and  that  at  Battersea  in  1772; 
and  though  the  piers  of  the  latter  do  not  obstruct  the 
navigation  quite  so  absurdly  as  those  at  Fulham,  in 
consequence  of  their  being  parallel  to  the  current, 
while  those  at  Fulham  stand  obliquely  to  it,  the  one 
bridge  is  just  as  totally  destitute  of  taste  in  its  ap- 
pearance, and  science  in  its  construction,  as  the 
other,  though  it  was  erected  in  a  comparatively  ad- 
vanced age,  and  under  the  sanction  of  an  act  of  par- 
liament. There  is,  in  fact,  little  more  knowledge  of 
the  principles  of  carpentry,  even  the  very  simplest 
ones,  displayed  in  those  bridges,  than  in  the  bridges 
which  the  beavers  are  said  to  build  in  the  vicinity  of 
Hudson's  Bay,  by  cutting  a  tree  with  their  teeth, 
and  contriving  that  it  shall  fall  across  the  river. 
That  they  should  be  tolerated  so  near  a  metropolis 
in  which  there  are  stone  bridges  like  the  Waterloo 
and  the  New  London,  and  iron  ones  like  the  South- 
wark  and  Vauxhall,  would  seem  a  little  singular,  if  it 
were  not  borne  in  mind  that  they  are  private  property. 
Timber  is  not  only  useful  in  forming  the  materials 
of  bridges,  where  the  circumstances  or  the  expense 
will  not  admit  of  stone  or  iron,  but  it  is  essential  for 
the  construction  of  stone  bridges  themselves.  With 
regard  to  them,  it  answers  three  purposes.  First, 
the  formation  of  coffer-dams,  by  means  of  which  the 
foundations  of  the  piers,  or  rather  the  places  where 
they  are  to  be  founded,  are  cleared  of  water;  second- 
ly, when  the  soil  is  not  of  sufficient  consistency  to 
afford  a  firm  foundation,  piles  of  timber  are  driven 
into  it;  and,  thirdly,  centerings  of  timber  are  con- 
structed, upon  which  the  whole  weight  of  the  arch  can 
be  borne,  until  the  key-stones  are  driven  into  their 
places,  which  centerings  can  then  be  removed  with 
comparatively  little  labour. 


APPLICATIONS    OP    TIMBER.  197 

The  driving  of  the  piles  is  in  some  degree  a  simple 
matter ;  though  there  be  a  good  deal  of  ingenuity  in 
the  engines  by  which  they  are  driven,  and  some 
judgment  necessary  in  order  to  ascertain  that  the 
piling  is  equally  firm  throughout  the  whole  founda- 
tion:— because  if  one  pier,  or  portion  of  a  pier,  were 
to  settle  down  much  more  than  the  others,  the  beauty 
of  the  superstructure  would  be  spoiled,  and  its  sta- 
bility would  be  endangered.  The  other  uses  of  tim- 
ber in  the  construction  of  stone  bridges  afford  scope 
for  the  display  of  much  more  ingenuity,  and  are  per- 
haps among  the  happiest  applications  of  timber;  as 
without  them  no  stone  bridge  could  be  constructed. 

Coffer-dams  are  certainly  the  best  means  of  get- 
ting a  foundation  for  the  piers  of  bridges  in  a  river. 
Two  circles  of  piles  are  driven  into  the  bed  of  the 
river,  round  the  part  intended  for  the  foundation  of 
the  pier,  and  the  external  surfaces  being  planked,  the 
space  between  the  two  circles  is  filled  up  with  clay. 
The  whole  is  made  water-tight;  and  the  inner  water 
being  removed,  the  foundation  is  laid  as  for  any  other 
building.  Sometimes  a  different  mode  is  resorted  to : 
the  pier  is  built  to  a  certain  height, — the  surface  of  the 
water  in  a  running  river,  and  the  low  water  mark,  at 
least  in  a  tideway,' — in  a  caisson,  or  case  composed  of 
a  strong  bottom  and  sides  of  timber.  These  are  made 
water-tight,  sunk  at  first  partly  by  water,  and  partly 
by  a  portion  of  the  materials;  and  by  pumping  out 
the  water  as  high  as  the  surface  of  the  work,  that 
work  is  continued  until  it  be  brought  above  the  sur- 
face; then  the  sides  of  the  caisson  are  removed 
while  the  bottom  or  platform  remains,  and  becomes 
the  foundation  of  the  pier.  In  order  that  building 
in  a  caisson  may  be  secure,  two  circumstances  are 
essential:  first,  that  the  platform  shall  be  constructed 
of  the  kind  and  quality  of  timber  least  liable  to  decay 
in  water;  and,  secondly,  that  the  bottom  on  which  it 

VOT..    II.  17* 


198  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

is  laid  shall  be  of  a  firm  consistency,  levelled  through- 
out, and  not  liable  to  be  washed  or  scoured  away  by 
currents. 

Westminster  Bridge  is  an  example  of  founding  in 
caissons;  and  some  of  the  piers  of  it  are  already  un- 
dermined by  scouring, — a  danger  which  will  increase 
when  the  removal  of  old  London  Bridge  admits  of 
a  more  rapid  current,  and  consequently  a  greater 
scouring  in  the  river.  But  though  the  foundations 
of  Westminster  Bridge  are  thus  scarcely  deep  and 
secure  enough,  there  is  much  excellence,  as  well  as 
ingenuity,  in  the  structure;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that  Mr.  Labelye,  the  very  able  engineer  of  it,  did  not 
publish  his  plans,  as  the  science  of  bridge-building 
might  have  derived  much  advantage  from  a  complete 
knowledge  of  the  principles  upon  which  he  worked. 

Blackfriars  Bridge  is  another  instance  of  building 
in  caissons;  only  Mr.  Mylne,  the  engineer  of  that 
work,  took  the  precaution  of  piling  round  the  foun- 
dations. 

Old  London  Bridge  is  under  still  greater  obliga- 
tions to  timber  than  any  of  those  that  have  been 
mentioned;  being  founded  wholly  on  piles,  the  tops 
of  which  are  as  high  as  the  low  water  mark, — and 
thus  neither  caissons  nor  coffer-dams  were  necessary. 
Those  piles  are  of  various  timbers,  but  chiefly  of  oak 
and  elm, — oak  being  most  abundant  in  the  more 
ancient  part  of  the  structure.  They  have  stood 
uncommonly  well;  for  though  the  sap  wood  had  de- 
cayed, those  which  were  recently  taken  up,  even  in 
the  most  ancient  parts  of  the  foundations,  which  had 
probably  remained  in  water  for  about  six  hundred 
years,  were  undecayed  in  the  central  parts. 

Foundations  in  coffer-dams  are  accounted  the  most 
secure,  and  therefore  they  are  now  most  generally 
adopted  in  large  works.  From  the  depth  of  water, 
the  size  of  the  piers,  and  the  great  weight  they  have 


APPLICATIONS    OF    TIMBER.  199 

to  support,  the  new  London  Bridge  is  probably  one 
of  the  greatest,  and  certainly  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful instances  of  founding  in  coffer-dams.  For 
this  work,  the  dams  were  made  in  the  form  of 
ellipses,  consisting  of  three  rows  of  piles,  dressed  in 
the  joints,  but  without  grooving,  which  is  found  not 
to  answer  very  well,  more  especially  with  such  a 
depth,  and  in  so  rapid  a  current.  Some  of  those 
piles  were  of  the  immense  length  of  eighty  or  ninety 
feet;  and  yet  they  were  driven  and  puddled  with 
clay  between  the  rows  so  accurately,  that,  all  things 
considered,  the  leakage  was  very  trifling. 

SHITS. 

Ships  of  large  dimensions  have  been  constructed 
in  all  ages.  Some  of  the  war  gallies  of  the  ancients 
are  represented  as  being  hardly  inferior  in  dimen- 
sions to  first  rate  line  of  battle  ships  of  the  present 
day.  The  largest  masses  of  timber  that  ever  navi- 
gated the  ocean  were,  however,  those  constructed  by 
Mr.  Wood  of  Port  Glasgow,  in  the  Isle  of  Orleans, 
in  the  gulph  of  St.  Lawrence.  The  first  of  these, 
the  Columbus,  was  three  hundred  feet  long  on  the 
deck,  fifty  feet  seven  inches  broad  amidships,  and 
twenty-nine  feet  and  a  half  deep  in  the  hold.  She 
was  flat  bottomed,  and  wall-sided,  or  had  the  sides 
nearly  perpendicular,  and  the  stern  post  with  little  or 
no  inclination.  The  admeasured  register  of  the  Co- 
lumbus was  [about  three  thousand  six  hundred  and 
ninety  tons;  and  her  actual  tonnage  not  much  less 
than  five  thousand.  She  had  four  masts,  the  largest 
of  which,  however,  was  hardly  equal  to  that  of  a 
seventy-four.  She  came  to  England  with  a  cargo  of 
timber  in  1825,  and  arrived  safely  in  the  Thames; 
but  went  to  pieces  on  her  voyage  outwards,  owing, 
as  is  generally  alleged,  to  the  pilot  committing  some 
error,  or  not  being  accustomed  to  conduct  a  mass  so 


200  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

enormous  through  the  hazards  of  the  narrow  seas. 
The  fate  of  the  Columbus,  and  that  of  the  Baron  of 
Renfrew,  a  vessel  of  equal,  if  not  of  larger,  dimen- 
sions, seem  to  have  established  the  fact,  that  notwith- 
standing the  greatest  attention  to  strength  in  their 
construction,  there  is  a  limit  in  size  beyond  which,  if 
vessels  are  attempted  to  be  carried,  they  are  neither 
profitable  nor  safe. 

LIGHT-HOUSES. 

One  of  the  most  celebrated  instances  of  the  appli- 
cation of  timber,  in  the  construction  of  a  light-house, 
was  that  by  Mr.  Rudyerd,  upon  the  rock  of  Eddy- 
stone,  where  Smeaton's  magnificent  stone  edifice 
now  stands.  The  engineer  of  this  celebrated  but  ill- 
fated  structure  had  not  been  bred  to  the  profession, 
for  he  was  a  silk -mercer  upon  Ludgate-hill ;  but  he 
seems  to  have  been  a  man  of  the  greatest  talents  for 
carpentry;  and  we  have  the  evidence  of  Smeaton, 
that,  "  he  directed  the  performance  in  a  masterly 
manner."  Before  this  time,  a  light-house  had  been 
built  on  the  same  situation,  by  Mr.  Henry  Win- 
stanley,  which  was  completed  in  1699;  but  which 
disappeared  with  its  engineer,  in  the  violent 
storm  during  the  night  of  the  26th  of  November, 
1703.  That  26th  of  November  was  the  most  dread- 
ful storm  ever  experienced  in  the  British  seas;  and 
the  damage  that  it  did,  both  at  sea  and  on  land,  has 
not  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  the  country;  so  that, 
although  Mr.  Winstanley's  light-house  was  torn  from 
the  rock,  and  it  seems  to  have  been  so  torn  in  one 
mass,  it  does  not  thence  follow  that  it  was  a  struc- 
ture of  inferior  strength,  because  no  subsequent 
structure  has  had  to  abide  a  trial  so  severe.  What 
added  to  the  public  regret  upon  that  melancholy  oc- 
casion, was  the  fact  that  Mr.  Winstanley  had  erected 
the  light-house  at  his  own  expense. 


APPLICATIONS    OF    TIMBER.  2Ctt 

Rudyerd  saw  and  avoided  the  errors  of  Winstan- 
ley's  structure;  that  was  a  polygon, — Rudyerd  made 
the  plan  of  his  a  circle;  there  were  projecting  orna- 
ments at  the  top  of  Winstanley's, — Rudyerd's  was  en- 
tirely plain.  Rudyerd's  structure  may  be  considered 
as  altogether  a  piece  of  carpentry;  for  the  several 
courses  of  moor  stone  that  were  in  it  were  mere 
ballast,  and  served  little  other  purpose  than  that  of 
keeping  the  structure  firm  by  their  weight,  which  was 
about  two  hundred  and  seventy  tons.  The  main 
column  of  Rudyerd's  building  consisted  of  one  sim- 
ple figure,  being  an  elegant  frustrum  of  a  cone,  un- 
broken by  any  projecting  ornaments,  or  anything  on 
which  the  violence  of  the  storms  could  lay  hold; 
measuring,  exclusively  of  its  sloping  foundation, 
twenty-two  feet  eight  inches  diameter,  on  its  largest 
circular  base;  sixty-one  feet  in  height  above  that  cir- 
cular base ;  and  fourteen  feet  three  inches  diameter  at 
the  top;  so  that  the  circular  base  was  somewhat 
greater  than  one-third  of  the  total  height,  and  the 
diameter  at  the  top  was  less  than  two-thirds  of  the 
base  at  the  greatest  circle.  On  the  flat  roof  of  this 
main  column,  as  a  platform,  Mr.  Rudyerd  fixed 
his  lantern,  which  was  an  octagon  of  ten  feet  six 
inches  diameter  externally.  The  mean  height  of  the 
window-frames  of  the  lantern,  above  the  balcony  floor, 
was  nearly  nine  feet;  so  that  the  elevation  of  the 
centre  of  the  light  above  the  highest  side  of  the  base 
was  seventy  feet. 

This  structure  was  completed  in  three  years;  the 
light  being  first  exhibited  on  the  28th  of  July,  1708  ; 
and  the  work  was  perfected  the  following  year.  Not- 
withstanding that  this  edifice  was  of  timber,  and  ex- 
posed to  the  most  violent  swells  and  storms  that  can 
well  be  imagined,  it  appears,  that,  in  consequence  ot 
the  simplicity  of  its  form,  the  skill  vv  ith  which  it 
was  framed  and  fastened  to  the  rock — the  base, 
naturally  shelving,  having  been  worked  to  a  series 


202  VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

of  horizontal  steps  or  terraces, — it  would  have 
defied  the  ocean  and  the  atmosphere  for  many  cen- 
turies, with  only  a  moderate  degree  of  repair.  In 
the  year  1744,  a  number  of  the  upright  timbers  were 
broken,  but  they  were  soon  replaced  by  Mr.  Jessop, 
(father  of  the  late  eminent  engineer  of  that  name,) 
who  then  had  the  charge  of  it.  From  this  time  till 
the  year  1755,  Rudyerd's  light-house  sustained  no 
particular  injury;  but  in  that  year  it  was  totally  de- 
stroyed, by  a  catastrophe  which  cannot  be  so  well  ex- 
pressed as  in  the  words  of  the  celebrated  Smeaton, 
the  engineer  of  the  stone  light-house.  The  present 
erection,  considering  the  difference  of  the  materials, 
may  be  considered  as  a  parallel  chef-tfczuvre  with 
that  of  Rudyerd. 

"  On  the  22d  of  August,  1755,"  says  Smeaton, 
"  the  workmen  returned  on  shore,  having  finished  all 
necessary  repairs  of  that  season;  between  which  time 
and  the  2d  of  December  following,  the  attending 
boat  had  been  off  several  times  to  the  Eddystone, 
and  particularly  on  the  1st  of  December,  and  had 
landed  some  stores,  when  the  light-keepers  made  no 
manner  of  complaint,  and  said  all  was  right,  except 
that  one  or  two  of  the  bricks  in  the  kitchen  fire-place 
had  been  loosened  by  a  late  storm.  What  in  reality 
might  occasion  the  building's  first  catching  fire,  it 
has  never  been  possible  fully  to  investigate ;  but,  from 
the  most  distinct  account,  it  appears  to  have  com- 
menced in  the  very  top  of  the  lantern,  that  is,  in  the 
cupola.  From  whatever  cause  it  originated,  it  is 
certain  that  when  the  light-keeper  then  upon  the 
watch,  (about  two  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  the  2d 
of  December,)  went  into  the  lantern  as  usual,  to 
snuff  the  candles,  he  found  the  whole  in  a  smoke, 
and  upon  opening  the  door  of  the  lantern  into  the 
balcony,  a  flame  instantly  burst  from  the  inside  of 
the  cupola  :  he  immediately  endeavoured  to  alarm 
his  companions;  but  they,  being  in  bed  and  asleep, 


APPLICATIONS    OF    TIMBER.  203 

were  not  so  ready  in  coming  to  his  assistance  as  the 
occasion  required.  As  there  were  always  some 
leathern  buckets  kept  in  the  house,  and  a  tub  of 
water  in  the  lantern,  he  attempted  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible to  extinguish  the  fire  in  the  cupola,  by  throwing 
water  from  the  balcony  with  a  leather  bucket,  upon 
the  outside  cover  of  lead;  by  this  time,  his  comrades 
approaching,  he  /encouraged  them  to  fetch  up  water 
with  the  leather  buckets  from  the  sea:  but  as  the 
height  would  be,  at  a  medium,  full  seventy  feet,  this, 
added  to  the  natural  consternation  that  must  attend 
such  a  sudden  and  totally  unexpected  event,  would 
occasion  this  business  of  bringing  up  water,  at  the 
best,  to  go  on  but  slowly.  Meanwhile  the  flames 
gathering  strength  every  moment,  and  the  poor  man, 
though  making  use  of  every  exertion,  having  the 
water  to  throw  full  four  yards  higher  than  his  own 
head,  to  be  of  any  service,  we  must  by  no  means  be 
surprised,  that,  under  all  these  difficulties,  the  fire, 
instead  of  being  soon  extinguished,  would  increase  ; 
and  what  put  a  sudden  stop  to  further  exertions,  was 
the  following  most  remarkable  circumstance : — As  he 
was  looking  upward  with  the  utmost  attention,  to  see 
the  direction  and  success  of  the  water  thrown,  a  quan- 
tity of  lead,  dissolved  by  the  heat  of  the  flames,  sud- 
denly rushed  like  a  torrent  from  the  roof,  and  fell  not 
only  on  the  man's  head,  .face,  and  shoulders,  but  over 
his  clothes;  and  a  part  of  it  made  its  way  through 
his  shirt  collar  and  very  much  burnt  his  neck  and 
shoulders:  from  this  moment  he  had  a  violent  inter- 
nal sensation,  and  imagined  that  a  quantity  of  this 
lead  had  passed  down  his  throat,  and  got  into  his 
body.  The  man,  who  was  ninety-four  years  of 
age,  died  on  the  twelfth  day  after  the  accident  ; 
on  opening  the  stomach,  a  solid  piece  of  lead  was 
found  in  it,  weighing  seven  ounces  five  drachms. 
Under  this  violence  of  pain  and  anxiety,  as  every 
attempt  had  proved  ineffectual,  and  the  rage  of  the 


204  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

flames  was  increasing,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  that 
the  terror  and  dismay  of  the  three  men  increased 
in  proportion;  so  that  they  all  found  themselves  in- 
timidated, and  glad  to  make  their  retreat  from  that 
immediate  scene  of  horror,  into  one  of  the  rooms 
below,  where  they  would  find  themselves  precluded 
from  doing  any  thing:  for  had  they  thrown  down 
ever  so  much  water  there,  it  could  not  have  extin- 
guished what  was  burning  above  them,  nor  indeed 
produce  any  other  effect  than  that  of  running  down 
into  the  rooms  below,  and  from  thence  finally 
through  the  staircase,  back  again  into  the  sea.  They 
seem,  therefore,  to  have  had  no  other  resource,  or 
means  of  retreat,  than  that  of  retiring  downwards 
from  room  to  room,  as  the  fire  advanced  over  their 
heads.  How  soon  the  fire  was  seen  from  the  shore, 
is  not  very  certain;  but  early  in  the  morning  it  was 
perceived  by  some  of  the  Cawsand  fishermen,  and 
intelligence  thereof  given  to  Mr.  Edwards  of  Rame, 
in  that  neighbourhood,  a  gentleman  of  some  fortune, 
and  more  humanity.  This  prompted  him  immedi- 
ately to  send  out  a  fishing  boat  and  men,  to  the  relief 
of  the  people  he  supposed  in  distress  upon  the  Eddy- 
stone.  The  boat  and  men  got  thither  about  ten 
o'clock,  after  the  fire  had  been  burning  full  eight 
hours  ;  and  in  this  time  the  three  light-keepers  were 
not  only  driven  from  all  the  rooms,  and  the  staircase, 
but,  to  avoid  the  falling  of  the  timber,  and  red-hot 
bolts,  &c.,  upon  them,  they  were  found  sitting  in  the 
hole  or  cove  in  the  east  side  of  the  rock,  under  the 
iron  ladder,  almost  in  a  state  of  stupefaction,  it  being 
then  low  water.  At  this  time  the  wind  was  eastward, 
and  did  not  blow  very  fresh,  but  just  hard  enough  to 
make  a  landing  upon  the  rock,  at  the  proper  landing- 
place,  quite  impracticable,  or  attended  with  the  ut- 
most hazard.  It,  therefore,  became  a  difficulty  how 
the  men  were  to  be  taken  off;  for  the  ground-swell 
upon  the  west  side  produced  so  great  surf  upon  the 


APPLICATIONS    OF    TIMBER.  205 

sloping  surface,  that  no  boat  could  attempt  to  land 
there.  They,  however,  fell  upon  the  following  ex- 
pedient: having  a  small  boat  with  them,  they  moored 
their  principal  boat  by  a  grappling  to  the  westward, 
but  as  near  the  rock  as  they  durst;  and  then  launch- 
ing their  small  boat,  they  rowed  it  toward  the  rock, 
veering  out  a  rope,  which  they  fastened  to  the  large 
boat,  till  they  got  near  enough  to  throw  a  coil  of 
small  rope  on  the  rock ;  which  having  been  laid  hold 
of  by  the  men,  they  one  by  one  fastened  it  round 
their  waists,  and  jumping  into  the  sea,  they  were 
towed  into  the  small  boat,  and  thence  delivered  into 
the  large  one;  and  as  they  found  it  was  out  of  their 
power  to  do  any  further  service,  the  boat  hastened 
to  Plymouth  to  get  the  men  relieved.  No  sooner, 
however,  were  they  set  on  shore,  than  one  of  them 
made  off,  and  has  never  since  been  heard  of,  which 
would,  on  the  first  blush,  induce  one  to  suppose,  that 
there  were  something  culpable  in  this  man;  and  if  it 
had  been  a  house  on  the  shore,  one  would  have. been 
tempted  to  suspect  hehad  been  guilty  of  some  foul  play: 
but  the  circumstance  of  its  being  a  light-house,  situated 
so  as  to  afford  no  retreat  in  the  power  of  its  inhabi- 
tants, seems  to  preclude  the  possibility  of  its  being 
done  wilfully;  as  he  must  know  he  must  perish,  or 
be  in  extreme  danger  of  doing  so  at  least,  along  with 
the  rest." 

Such  was  the  termination  of  a  building,  which  has 
always  been  looked  upon  as  a  matchless  specimen  of 
skill  in  carpentry;  and  which  was  destroyed  by  means 
that  had  not  been  contemplated,  and  therefore  not 
guarded  against  at  the  time  of  its  erection.  In  a 
few  days  it  was  burnt  down  to  the  very  foundation, 
after  it  had  stood  for  forty-nine  years,  and  been  the 
means  of  saving  many  a  ship  from  being  wrecked 
upon  that  dangerous  rock, 

VOL.    II.  18 


206          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 


FORESTS  AND  PLANTING. 

WE  have  thus  taken  a  general  view  of  the  principal 
timber  which  is  used  in  this  country,  in  building  and 
in  manufactures.  The  limits  of  this  work  necessarily 
preclude  the  insertion  of  much  information  that  might 
be  useful  and  amusing;  but  we  have  endeavoured  to 
select  from  the  great  mass  of  materials  which  the 
subject  affords,  such  as  might  best  gratify  the 
curiosity  of  the  reader,  and  excite  that  habit  of 
observation  which  is  the  first  step  towards  real 
knowledge. 

As  timber  is  one  of  the  most  important  and  valu- 
able materials  which  man  employs  for  the  promotion 
of  his  comforts,  and  is,  even  to  the  rudest,  abso- 
lutely necessary  in  many  ways,  so,  fortunately,  it  is 
the  most  plentiful  of  all  the  productions  of  nature. 
We  have  given,  in  the  preceding  pages,  many  details 
of  the  extent  of  the  forests  of  the  north  of  Europe, 
and  of  America.  In  parts  of  the  coasts  of  South 
America,  Humboldt  found  the  largest  trees  growing 
in  such  unbounded  luxuriance,  that  he  could  scarcely 
set  foot  on  the  shore,  so  thick  were  the  woods,  run- 
ning down  even  to  the  water's  edge.  This  thickness 
of  vegetation  is  a  remarkable  characteristic  of  that 
part  of  the  world;  and  where  the  climate  is  unfa- 
vourable to  the  growth  of  trees,  rank  grass  and 
thistles  shoot  up,  in  a  profusion,  and  with  a  rapidity, 
which  is  quite  astonishing.  The  great  plain  on  the 
east  of  the  Cordillera,  called  the  Pampas,  is  about 
nine  hundred  miles  in  breadth;  and  its  vegetable 
productions  are  either  small  evergreens,  clover,  or 
thistles,  according  to  the  climate  of  the  several  dis- 
tricts. In  the  spring,  the  region  of  thistles  presents 
a  most  extraordinary  spectacle.  They  suddenly  spring 


FORESTS.  207 

up  to  the  height  of  ten  ;  or;  eleven  feet,  and  are  all  in 
full  bloom.  The  road  or  path  is  hemmed  in,  and  the 
view  is  completely  obstructed.  The  thistles  are  so 
close  together,  and  so  strong,  that  they  are  perfectly 
impenetrable.  Captain  Head,  in  his  journey  across 
the  Pampas,  says:  "it  is  really  possible  that  an 
invading  army,  unacquainted  with  this  country,  might 
be  imprisoned  by  these  thistles  before  they  had  time 
to  escape  from  them."  We  have  mentioned  these 
facts  to  shew  the  almost  universal  luxuriance  of 
natural  vegetation:  generally,  this  luxuriance  pro- 
duces the  most  beautiful  and  majestic  objects  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom,  trees.  A  country  with- 
out wood  is  always  disagreeable  ;  and  thus  the 
inhabitants  of  bleak  regions,  possessing  no  timber, 
are  considered  peculiarly  unfortunate.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  extreme  abundance  of  trees,  in  many  parts 
of  the  earth,  renders  it  one  of  the  great  labours  of 
man  to  clear  the  ground  of  them,  that  he  may  be  able 
to  raise  food  by  cultivation.  The  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion has  thus  a  natural  tendency  to  diminish  the 
forests  of  the  world.  The  Britons,  the  Gauls,  and 
the  Germans,  in  those  states  of  society  which  have 
been  described  by  Caesar  and  Tacitus,  lived  almost 
wholly  in  the  woods,  which  supplied  the  principal 
wants  of  a  rude  people;  but  as  the  arts  of  life  made 
advances,  through  communication  with  more  refined 
nations,  these  people  permitted  the  wolves  and  bears 
to  occupy  the  forests — associated  together  in  towns 
— and  cultivated  the  open  country.  As  population 
increased,  more  land  was  required  for  culture  than 
the  plains  afforded ;  and  then  the  forests  were  sub- 
jected to  the  axe,  and  their  spontaneous  produce  was 
succeeded  by  regular  tillage.  This  is  the  progress  of 
man  in  all  woody  countries. 

For  several  centuries  the  forests  of  England  were 
much  neglected.     Many  of  them  were  royal  domains  j 


208  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

but  as  the  inhabitants  within  a  forest  generally  had 
customary  rights  which  were  considered  irreconcile- 
able  with  much  improvement,  very  little  young  tim- 
ber was  produced.  Within  the  last  twenty  years, 
some  of  the  most  extensive  of  these  ancient  appen- 
dages of  the  crown  have  been  disafforested — that  is, 
a  part  has  been  assigned  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
district,  and  the  other  part  has  been  inclosed  by  the 
crown.  The  Commissioners  of  Woods  and  Forests 
have  important  duties  to  perform,  and  not  the  least 
important  is  that  of  providing  a  proper  succession 
of  timber  for  building  ships.  We  have  seen  a  calcu- 
lation, in  which  it  is  shewn  that  a  first-rate  ship  of 
the  line  contains  three  thousand  loads  of  timber,  and 
that  this  quantity  could  not  be  grown  on  a  less  sur- 
face than  fifty  acres.  To  maintain,  therefore,  an 
abundant  supply  of  timber  fit  for  naval  purposes,  is 
not  an  easy  or  a  trivial  matter. 

At  the  time  when  Gilpin  published  his  "  Forest 
Scenery,"  about  thirty  years  ago,  it  was  considered 
that  eleven  forests  had  alone  preserved  their  rights, 
out  of  seventy-seven  which  are  enumerated  in  an 
account  of  the  land  revenues  of  the  crown,  published 
by  Mr.  St.  John.  These  eleven  were — Windsor, 
Waltham,  Dean,  Rockingham,  Whittlewood,  Salcey, 
Sherwood,  Whichwood,  New-forest,  Bere,  and  Wal- 
mer.  Of  these  the  greater  number,  as  we  have  al- 
ready stated,  have  now  been  disafforested.  The  cruel 
and  iniquitous  usurpations  called  forest  law,  which  had 
been  in  former  times  such  a  source  of  oppression  to 
the  people,  have  long  since  fallen  into  disuse, — 
although,  till  within  these  few  years,  some  of  the 
forms  of  those  laws  were  kept  up,  particularly  in  the 
New-forest  and  the  forest  of  Dean.  The  principle 
of  these  despotic  laws,  according  to  Manwood,  a  legal 
writer  on  the  subject,  was  this: — "  It  is  allowed  to 
our  sovereign  lord  the  king,  in  respect  of  his  con- 


PLANTING.  209 

tinual  care  and  labour  for  the  preservation  of  the 
whole  realm,  among  other  privileges,  this  prerogative, 
to  have  his  places  of  recreation  and  pastime,  where- 
soever he  will  appoint.  For  as  it  is  at  the  liberty 
and  pleasure  of  his  grace  to  secure  the  wild  beasts 
and  the  game  to  himself,  for  his  only  delight  and 
pleasure,  so  he  may  also  at  his  will  and  pleasure 
make  a  forest  for  them  to  abide* in."  In  this  way 
more  than  an  eighth  of  the  whole  kingdom  was  made 
forest  for  the  king's  pastime;  and  the  most  vexatious 
and  arbitrary  regulations  were  enforced  for  the  purpose 
of  preserving  the  game.  The  grievance  at  length, 
was  put  down  by  the  spirit  of  the  people. 

The  publication  of  his  Sylva,  by  Evelyn,  gave  a 
considerable  impulse  to  planting  in  the  time  of 
Charles  II.  ;  but  in  the  next  century  that  duty  was 
much  neglected  by  the  landed  proprietors  of  this 
country.  There  is  a  selfish  feeling,  that  the  planter 
of  an  elm  or  an  oak  does  not  reap  such  an  immediate 
profit  from  it  himself,  as  will  compensate  for  the 
expense  and  trouble  of  raising  it.  This  is  an  ex- 
tremely narrow  principle,  which,  fortunately,  the 
rich  are  beginning  to  be  ashamed  of.  It  is  a  po- 
sitive duty  of  a  landed  proprietor  who  cuts  down 
the  tree  which  his  grandfather  planted,  to  put  a 
young  one  into  the  ground,  as  a  legacy  to  his  own 
grand-children:  he  will  otherwise  leave  the  world 
worse  than  he  found  it.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  is 
himself  a  considerable  planter,  has  eloquently  de- 
nounced that  contracted  feeling  which  prevents  pro- 
prietors thus  improving  their  estates,  because  the 
profits  of  plantations  make  a  tardy  and  distant  return; 
and  we  cannot  better  conclude  than  with  a  short 
passage  from  the  essay  in  which  he  enforces  the 
duty  of  planting  waste  lands: — 

"  The  indifference  to  this  great  rural»improvement 
arises,  we  have  reason  to  believe,  not*  so  much  out 


210  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

of  the  actual  lucre  of  gain  as  the  fatal  vis  inertice — 
that  indolence  which  induces  the  lords  of  the  soil  to 
be  satisfied  with  what  they  can  obtain  from  it  by 
immediate  rent,  rather  than  encounter  the  expense 
and  trouble  of  attempting  the  modes  of  amelioration 
which  require  immediate  expense — and,  what  is,  per- 
haps, more  grudged  by  the  first-born  of  Egypt — a 
little  future  attention.  To  such  we  can  only  say  that 
improvement  by  plantation  is  at  once  the  easiest, 
the  cheapest,  and  the  least  precarious  mode  of  in- 
creasing the  immediate  value,  as  well  as  the  future 
income,  of  their  estates;  and  that  therefore  it  is  we 
exhort  them  to  take  to  heart  the  exhortation  of  the 
dying  Scotch  laird  to  his  son : — '  Be  aye  sticking  in 
a  tree,  Jock — it  will  be  growing  whilst  you  are 
sleeping.' " 


DUTIES    ON    TIMBER.  211 

The  following  Table  of  the  Duties  paid  upon  fo- 
reign timber,  in  1827,  will  point  out  the  vast  extent 
of  the  commerce  of  the  United  Kingdom  in  this 
article. 

PlNE-TlMBER.  £ 

Balks  and  Ufers  j»*v         .  1,096 

•    Battens  arid  Batten-ends       .*  .    111,013 

Clap  and  Pipe  Boards       .  . .    '  834 

Paling  .  .  P.~.  -••        382 

Deals    .         "'  T         .        [*..  634,737 

Deal-ends  .  .  .          32,820 

Fire-wood         .  .        It,.-   •        .2,913 

Fir-quarters  .  .  .  3,520 

Lath-wood       .  .  .  35,821 

Masts  and  Spars  .  .        ^  ,.  $       21,464 

Fir-Logs,  eight  in  square  and  upwards  575,452 


1,420,052 


OAK,  ELM,  ASH,  TEAK. 


Handspikes              .              .  .         .       660 

Knees  for  Ships  (Oak)             .  .      1,262 

Oak  Plank           .         .    .  >  -             22,752 

Oars,  (Ash)             .             ./.  1,222 

Staves  (Oak)           .             .  &         50,139 
Oak  Logs         .           "f        '-*''        .    30,102 

Wainscot  Logs    .     .             .  .        13,270 

Teak       .             .           '.  .:'            8,690 

Unenumerated  Timber        .  .   .      7,880 

£135,977 

DYE  AND  HARD-WOODS. 
Mahogany,  Rose-wood,  &c.        .        £88,590 

In  1827,  the  number  of  loads  of  timber  exported 
from  British  America  was  343,203;  and  from  the 
Baltic,  173,382.  Total  loads  imported,  516-*»* 


212  VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

This  quantity  would  load  about  2000  ships,  of  the 
ordinary  tonnage  employed  in  the  timber  trade. 

TOTAL  AMOUNT  OF  DUTIES.      £ 

Pine-Timber         .        *.    J        •      1,420,052 
Oak,  &c.         .  .  .  135,977 

Dye  and  Hard-woods       .  .  88,590 

£1,644,619 


PART  II. 
FRUITS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


Introduction. — Fruits  of  the  Temperate  Climates.    Fleshy  Fruits.— Apple ; 
Pear  ;  Quince ;  Ornamental  Crabs  ;  Medlar. 


WHETHER  we  regard  their  beauty,  their  variety,  the 
extent  over  which  they  are  diffused,  or  their  agree- 
ableness  and  value  to  man,  there  is  no  class  of  sub- 
stances more  interesting  than  the  Fruits.  Their 
progressive  cultivation,  and  their  removal,  by  wan- 
dering tribes  or  conquerors,  from  region  to  region, 
associate  them  in  a  very  remarkable  degree  with  the 
history  of  the  human  race.  This  historical  connexion 
of  fruits  with  the  progress  of  civilization  is  sometimes 
fabulous,  and  generally  obscure ;  but  the  great  revo- 
lutions of  society  may  be  traced  in  their  gradual 
distribution  over  the  surface  of  the  globe :  for  where- 
ever  man  has  penetrated,  in  that  spirit  of  change  and 
activity  which  precedes  or  accompanies  civilization, 
he  has  assisted  the  dissemination  of  vegetable  produc- 
tions much  more  surely  and  rapidly  than  the  birds 
which  bear  their  seeds  from  land  to  land,  than  the 
currents  of  the  ocean,  or  even  the  winds. 

If  we  examine,  for  example,  the  fruits  of  our  own 

VOL.  n.  1 


214          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

country,  we  shall  at  once  see  how  their  introduction 
has  accompanied  the  great  changes  in  its  social  state. 
Before  the  invasion  of  the  Romans,  the  natives  of 
these  islands  probably  possessed  no  other  than  the 
wild  fruits  of  Northern  Europe, — the  crab,  the  sloe, 
the  hazel-nut  and  the  acorn.  The  Romans  themselves 
had,  but  a  few  centuries  before,  obtained  their  prin- 
cipal fruits  from  the  countries  of  the  East,  and  from 
Greece  and  its  islands.  Hirschfield  and  Sickler, 
laborious  writers  on  the  history  of  cultivated  vege- 
tables, are  of  opinion  that  the  Romans  derived  the 
fig  from  Syria,  the  orange  or  citron  from  Media, 
the  peach  from  Persia,  the  apricot  from  Epirus, 
the  pomegranate  from  Africa,  the  plum,  the  cherry, 
the  apple,  and  the  pear  from  Armenia.  Pliny  men- 
tions that  they  had  twenty-two  sorts  of  apples; 
thirty  of  pears;  three  of  quinces;  a  variety  of  plums 
and  cherries;  peaches,  nectarines,  apricots,  and 
almonds;  and  various  sorts  of  olives.  And  yet, 
under  the  reign  of  the  first  Tarquin,  the  olive  did 
not  exist  in  Italy,  although  Homer  and  Hesiod  men- 
tion it  as  cultivated  hi  Greece.*  A  cherry  tree  laden 
with  fruit  adorned  the  triumph  of  Lucullus; — the 
dictator  had  brought  the  plant  to  Rome  as  a  precious 
memorial  of  his  victory  over  Mithridates,  in  whose 
province  of  Pontus  he  had  found  the  treef .  In  less 
than  a  century,  the  same  species  of  cherry  was  com- 
mon in  France,  hi  Germany,  and  in  England,  where 
the  conquerors  had  introduced  it, — imparting  some 
few  blessings  while  they  inflicted  countless  miseries 
in  their  progress  to  universal  dominion.  Thus,  the 
cherry,  and  in  all  probability  the  peach,  the  plum, 
the  apple,  and  the  pear  of  England,  are  evidences 
that  it  was  once  a  colony  of  Rome.  Whatever  are 
the  evils  of  war  and  conquest,  and  they  are  very  great, 

*  Humboldt,  Geographic  des  Plantes.  t  See  p.  312. 


INTRODUCTION.  215 

they  yet  contributed,  in  the  early  stages  of  society, 
to  diffuse  the  knowledge  of  the  arts  of  cultivation. 
Plutarch,  with  the  partiality  arising  from  his  subject, 
says  that  Alexander,  by  his  progress  into  India, 
which  opened  communications  between  distant  na- 
tions, had  more  benefitted  mankind  than  all  the  spe- 
culative philosophers  of  Greece.  But  when  civilization 
is  advanced,  war  is  no  longer  in  any  way  an  instru- 
ment even  of  incidental  good — it  is  an  unmitigated 
evil. 

The  spread  of  a  milder,  though  not  a  less  power- 
ful sway — that  of  the  Church — introduced  new  fruits 
into  Great  Britain.  The  monks  after  the  conver- 
sion of  the  Anglo-Saxons  to  Christianity,  appear 
to  have  been  the  only  gardeners.  As  early  as  674, 
we  have  a  record,  describing  a  pleasant  and  fruit- 
bearing  close  at  Ely,  then  cultivated  by  Brithnoth, 
the  first  Abbot  of  that  place.  The  ecclesiastics  sub- 
sequently carried  their  cultivation  of  fruits  as  far  as 
was  compatible  with  the  nature  of  the  climate,  and 
the  horticultural  knowledge  of  the  middle  ages. 
Whoever  has  seen  an  old  abbey,  where  for  gene- 
rations destruction  only  has  been  at  work,  must 
have  almost  invariably  found  it  situated  in  one 
of  the  choicest  spots,  both  as  to  soil  and  aspect; 
and  if  the  hand  of  injudicious  improvement  has 
not  swept  it  away,  there  is  still  the  "  Abbey-gar- 
den." Even  though  it  has  been  wholly  neglected 
— though  its  walls  be  in  ruins,  covered  with  stones 
crop  and  wall-flower,  and  its  area  produce  but  the 
rankest  weeds — there  are  still  the  remains  of  the  aged 
fruit-trees — the  venerable  pears,  the  delicate  little  ap- 
ples, and  the  luscious  black  cherries.  The  chesnuts 
and  the  walnuts  may  have  yielded  to  the  axe,  and 
the  fig-trees  and  vines  died  away ; — but  sometimes  the 
mulberry  is  left,  and  the  strawberry  and  the  raspberry 
struggle  among  the  ruins.  There  is  a  moral  lesson 


216  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

in  these  memorials  of  the  monastic  ages.  The  monks, 
with  all  their  faults,  were  generally  men  of  peace  and 
study;  and  these  monuments  show  that  they  were 
improving  the  world,  while  the  warriors  were  spend- 
ing their  lives  to  spoil  it.  In  many  parts  of  Italy 
and  France,  which  had  lain  in  desolation  and  ruin 
from  the  time  of  the  Goths,  the  monks  restored  the 
whole  surface  to  fertility;  and  in  Scotland  and  Ire- 
land, there  probably  would  not  have  been  a  fruit-tree 
till  the  sixteenth  century,  if  it  had  not  been  for  their 
peaceful  labours.  It  is  generally  supposed  that  the 
monastic  orchards  were  in  their  greatest  perfection 
from  the  twelfth  to  the  fifteenth  century. 

The  crusades,  impolitic  and  unjust  as  they  were 
in  principle,  contributed  something  to  the  improve- 
ment of  European  society;  and,  by  renewing  a 
communication  with  the  countries  of  the  East,  they 
again  assisted  the  diffusion  of  those  vegetable 
treasures  which  had  been  neglected  after  the  de- 
struction of  the  Roman  empire.  The  monastic 
gardens  owed  many  of  their  choicest  fruits  to  the 
care  of  those  provident  ecclesiastics  who  had  accom- 
panied the  expeditions  to  the  Holy  Land. 

This  improvement  of  the  country  by  the  monks 
was  a  natural  effect  of  their  superiority  in  knowledge 
and  wealth  to  the  people  by  whom  they  were  sur- 
rounded. In  the  same  manner,  the  ecclesiastics  who 
have  settled  in  South  America,  from  the  time  of  the 
discovery  of  the  New  World,  have  caused  almost  all 
the  fruits,  of  temperate  Europe  to  flourish  amidst  the 
productions  of  the  torrid  zone.  "  In  studying  the 
history  of  the  conquest,"  says  Humboldt,  "  we  admire 
the  extraordinary  rapidity  with  which  the  Spaniards 
of  the  sixteenth  century  spread  the  cultivation  of  the 
European  vegetables  along  the  ridge  of  the  Cordil- 
leras, from  one  extremity  of  the  continent  to  the 
other;"  and  he  attributes  this  remarkable  effect  of 


INTRODUCTION.  217 

industry  principally  to  the  religious  missionaries.* 
The  same  course  is  now  pursued,  in  a  great  measure, 
by  the  missionaries  in  the  South  Seas,  and  in  South- 
ern Africa. 

The  destruction  of  the  monastic  houses,  and  the 
rise  of  the  middle  orders  of  society — a  natural  con- 
sequence of  commercial  industry  and  enterprize — gave 
an  impulse  to  the  general  cultivation  of  fruit-trees, 
instead  of  their  growth  being  almost  entirely  limited 
to  the  gardens  of  the  ecclesiastics.  The  time  of  Eli- 
zabeth was  marked  by  a  revival  of  the  arts  ;  and 
that  princess  herself  set  the  example  as  a  horti- 
culturist. Towards  the  end  of  her  reign,  the  cele- 
brated Gerard  published  his  well  known  '  Herball, 
or  Historic  of  Plants.'  This  eminent  gardener,  who 
numbered  among  his  patrons  Lord  JBurleigh  and 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  was  one  of  those  remarkable 
men  who  unite  a  general  scientific  knowledge 
with  great  practical  industry — men,  above  all  others, 
calculated  to  advance  the  progress  of  any  art. 
Gerard  kept  a  garden  in  Holborn  ;  and  in  1596  he 
published  a  catalogue  of  eleven  hundred  plants 
growing  there.  Fitzherbert,  and  some  others,  had 
written  on  the  subject  of  plants  before  Gerard's 
1  Herball'  made  its  appearance.  Those  attempts 
were,  however,  like  most  of  the  early  treatises  on 
the  arts  and  sciences,  derived  rather  from  the 
Roman  writings  on  the  subject  than  from  an  ex- 
amination and  knowledge  of  nature.  James  I., 
the  most  pedantic,  but  the  most  peace-loving,  and 
far  from  the  least  intelligent  of  kings,  planted  a 
fine  garden  at  Theobalds,  near  Waltham  Abbey, 
which  was,  about  thirty  years  afterwards,  de- 
scribed with  much  praise  by  John  Albert  de  Man- 

*  Political  Essay  on  the  Kingdom  of  New  Spain,  book  iv., 
chap.  ix. 

ror..   n.  1* 


218          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

delslo,  a  traveller  ;  but  so  little  interest  had  the 
garden  excited  at  home,  that  when  Mandelslo's 
book  came  to  be  "  done  into  English,"  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  garden  was  left  out  as  not  worth  read- 
ing. 

In  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  (1629),  Parkinson 
published  his  great  work,  l  Paradisi  in  sole  Para- 
disus  terrestris,  or  a  Garden  of  all  sortes  of  pleasant 
flowers,  with  a  Kitchen  Garden  of  all  manner  of 
herbs  and  roots,  and  an  Orchard  of  all  sortes  of 
fruit-bearing  trees.'  Parkinson  may  justly  claim  to 
be  considered  as  the  Bacon  of  horticulture,  because 
he  sent  men  into  the  garden  and  the  orchard  to  see 
with  their  own  eyes,  and  handle  with  their  own 
hands.  He  describes  fifty-eight  sorts  of  apples, 
sixty-four  pears,  sixty-one  plums,  twenty-one  peaches, 
five  nectarines,  six  apricots,  thirty-six  cherries,  three 
figs,  and  twenty-three  vines,  with  sorts  of  most  of  the 
smaller  hardy  fruits  stilt  cultivated.  Thirty-five  years 
after  the  appearance  of  Parkinson's  work,  the  cele- 
brated Evelyn  did  for  the  trees  of  the  forest  what  his 
predecessor  had  done  for  those  of  the  orchard. 

Charles  II.  paid  some  attention  to  the  luxury  of 
fruits,  one  of  his  very  few  harmless  propensities. 
Le  Notre,  the  favourite  gardener  of  Louis  XIV., 
was  his  landscape  gardener  ;  and  Rose,  his  private 
gardener,  who  also  had  studied  in  France,  was 
so  skilled  in  the  management  of  hot-houses  as  to 
be  able  to  produce  ripe  cherries  and  strawberries  at 
an  installation  dinner,  holden  at  Windsor  on  the  23rd 
of  April,  1667. 

We  are  approaching  a  period  when  the  commerce 
of  England  began  to  afford  some  indications  of  its 
future  greatness — of  its  unbounded  enterprize,  and  its 
universal  application  to  the  interchange  of  necessaries 
and  luxuries.  About  this  time  the  first  pines  were 
grown  in  England.  We,  probably,  obtained  this 


INTRODUCTION.  219 

fruit  from  Holland,  and  not  direct  from  any  tropical 
country  ;  for  the  Dutch  preceded  us  in  the  career  of 
commercial  adventure,  and  from  them,  principally,  we 
learnt  our  art  of  modern  gardening.  For  nearly  a 
century  and  a  half  this  country  has  steadily  proceeded 
in  augmenting  the  number  of  its  vegetable  productions, 
gathering  from  every  quarter  of  the  globe  the  fruits 
and  flowers  indigenous  to  each,  and  cultivating  them 
at  home,  either  to  increase  the  large  and  valuable 
number  of  plants  of  easy  growth,  and  therefore,  of 
general  use  and  ornament, — or  to  render  the  produc- 
tions of  the  torrid  zone  capable  of  administering  to 
luxurious  gratification  under  our  colder  skies,  by  the 
application  of  all  that  science  has  discovered  to 
make  man  so  far  independent  of  soil  and  tempera- 
ture. Thus,  the  large  number  of  our  native  plants 
(for  we  call  those  native  which  have  adapted  themselves 
to  our  climate)  mark  the  gradual  progress  of  our  civi- 
lization through  the  long  period  of  two  thousand  years ; 
whilst  the  almost  infinite  diversity  of  exotics  which  a 
botanical  garden  offers,  attest  the  triumphs  of  that 
industry  which  has  carried  us  as  merchants  or  as 
colonists  over  every  region  of  the  earth,  and  has 
brought  from  every  region  whatever  can  administer 
to  our  comforts  and  our  luxuries, — to  the  tastes  and 
the  needful  desires  of  the  humblest  as  well  as  the 
highest  amongst  us.  To  the  same  commerce  we 
owe  the  potatoe  and  the  pine-apple  ;  the  China 
rose,  whose  flowers  cluster  round  the  cottage-porch, 
and  the  Camellia  which  blooms  in  the  conserva- 
tory. The  addition  even  of  a  flower,  or  an  orna- 
mental shrub,  to  those  which  we  already  possess, 
is  not  to  be  regarded  as  a  matter  below  the  care  of 
industry  and  science.  The  more  we  extend  our  ac- 
quaintance with  the  productions  of  nature,  the  more 
are  our  minds  elevated  by  contemplating  the  variety, 
as  well  as  the  exceeding  beauty,  of  the  works  of  the 


220  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

Creator.  The  highest  understanding  does  not  stoop 
when  occupied  in  observing  the  brilliant  colour  of  a 
blossom,  or  the  graceful  form  of  a  leaf.  Hogarth,  the 
great  moral  painter,  a  man  in  all  respects  of  real  and 
original  genius,  writes  thus  to  his  friend  Ellis,  a  dis- 
tinguished traveller  and  naturalist: — "  As  for  your 
pretty  little  seed-cups  or  vases,  they  are  a  sweet  con- 
firmation of  the  pleasure  Nature  seems  to  take  in 
superadding  an  elegance  of  form  to  most  of  her  works, 
wherever  you  find  them.  How  poor  and  bungling 
are  all  the  imitations  of  Art!  When  I  have  the  plea- 
sure of  seeing  you  next,  we  will  sit  down,  nai/,  kneel 
down  if  you  will,  and  admire  these  things." 

In  the  progress  of  this  sketch  of  the  various  fruits 
which  administer  to  the  comfort  of  man  throughout 
the  globe, — we  shall  endeavour  to  trace,  as  far 
as  is  possible,  the  early  history  and  the  first  lo- 
calities of  those  which  are  more  generally  esteemed. 
The  information  possessed  upon  these  subjects 
is,  however,  necessarily  limited  and  vague.  The 
history  of  many  of  them  belongs  to  very  dis- 
tant periods  ;  for,  as  soon  as  they  were  rendered 
attractive  to  man  by  cultivation  (and  we  know  that 
scarcely  any  wild  fruit  is  of  value),  a  state  of  civi- 
lization followed,  which  of  necessity  would  lead  to 
commercial  intercourse.  The  very  first  movements 
of  mankind  would,  in  all  probability,  unsettle  the 
native  localities  of  the  fruits  ;  and  as  modern  expe- 
rience [shews  that  their  qualities  are  altered  gene- 
rally for  the  better  by  transplantation,  it  is  probable 
that,  in  the  course  of  a  time  by  no  means  long,  the 
fruit  which  had  first  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
adventurer  in  some  fertile  and  favoured  spot,  would 
be  flourishing  in  a  far  superior  state  upon  the  inferior 
soil,  or  under  the  inferior  climate,  where  it  had  re- 
ceived his  subsequent  care.  It  is  one  of  the  proudest 
attributes  of  man,  and  one  which  is  most  important 


INTRODUCTION.  221 

for  him  to  know,  that  he  can  improve  every  produc- 
tion of  nature,  if  he  will  but  once  make  it  his  own  by 
possession  and  attachment.  A  conviction  of  this 
truth  has  rendered  the  cultivation  of  fruits,  in  the 
more  polished  countries  of  Europe,  as  successful  as  we 
now  behold  it. 

In  carrying  the  pursuit  of  any  branch  of  know- 
ledge to  the  utmost  limits  of  its  means,  a  stimulus 
to  activity  and  mental  exertion  is  produced,  which 
is  in  itself  a  great  good.  The  establishment  of  the 
Horticultural  Society  of  London  has  afforded  such 
an  impulse  to  the  art  of  gardening.  It  was  well 
observed  by  the  President,  in  the  first  paper  of  its 
Transactions,  that  "  the  austere  crab  of  our  woods 
has  been  converted  into  the  golden  pippin  ;  and 
the  numerous  varieties  of  the  plum  can  boast  no 
other  parent  than  our  native  sloe.  Yet  few  ex- 
periments have  been  made,  the  object  of  which 
has  been  new  productions  of  this  sort;  and  almost 
every  ameliorated  variety  of  fruit  appears  to  have  been 
the  offspring  of  accident,  or  of  culture  applied  to 
other  purposes.  We  may  therefore  infer,  with  little 
danger  of  error,  that  an  ample  and  unexplored  field 
for  future  discovery  and  improvement  lies  before  us, 
in  which  nature  does  not  appear  to  have  formed  any 
limits  to  the  success  of  our  labours,  if  properly  ap- 
plied." This  institution  was  founded  in  1805,  by 
the  spirited  exertions  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  the 
Earls  of  Powis  and  Dartmouth,  Mr.  Knight,  and 
several  other  eminent  naturalists  and  encouragers  of 
useful  pursuits.  Under  the  direction  of  distinguished 
men  of  science  as  its  officers,  and  with  the  assist- 
ance of  the  most  skilful  practical  gardeners,  this 
Society  has  given  a  great  impulse  to  that  taste 
for  gardening  which  began  to  be  generally  diffused 
about  the  middle  of  the  last  century.  Its  objects  are 
of  much  more  extensive  range  than  can  be  effected 


222  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

by  establishments,  however  excellent,  like  the  Bo- 
tanical Garden  at  Chelsea.  A  similar  society  was 
formed  in  Scotland  in  1809,  at  the  suggestion  of 
Dr.  Andrew  Duncan,  senior;  and  there  are  many 
local  societies,  whose  objects  are  the  same,  which 
have  contributed  in  like  degree  to  lead  the  rich  to 
the  encouragement  of  horticulture,  and  to  instruct 
those  who  practise  the  art,  in  the  real  value  of  a  higher 
knowledge,  both  of  the  nomenclature  and  the  physi- 
ology of  plants,  than  had  formerly  been  considered 
necessary  or  even  fitting  for  practical  men. 


A  popular  division  of  fruits,  in  a  sketch  of  which 
the  object  is  more  to  excite  than  to  gratify  a  desire 
for  the    knowledge  of   their  history  and  properties, 
must  principally  have  reference  to  those    differences 
of  climate  by  which  they  are  brought  to  maturity  in 
the  open  air.     Without  following,  therefore,  a  strict 
geographical   arrangement,    we    shall   first   treat    of 
fruits   of  the  temperate   climates,   and,    secondly,  of 
tropical  fruits. 

Of  the  fruits  of  the  temperate  climates,  the  follow- 
ing will  comprise  the  principal  genera : — 

I.  Fleshy  Fruits,  having  the  seeds  enclosed  in  mem- 

branous cells. 

II.  Pulpy   Fruits,  having  the   seeds    lying   among 

pulp. 

III.  Stone  Fruits,  having  the  seed  enclosed  in  a 
hard  nut,  covered  with  flesh. 

IV.  Nuts,   or   dry   fruits,  which  are  neither  fleshy 
nor  pulpy. 


THE    APPLE. 


223 


a.  Apples.         b.  Pears. 


d.  Medlar. 


THE  APPLE — Pyrus  malus. 

The  apple  is  distinguished  as  the  fruit  of  the  colder 
climates.  It  is  at  once  the  most  brisk  and  refreshing 
of  any  of  the  common  hardy  orchard  fruits.  It  re- 
mains the  longest  in  season,  is  used  in  the  greatest 
number  of  ways,  and,  therefore,  is  the  most  generally 
cultivated.  The  stone  fruits  of  the  English  orchard 
keep  only  for  a  few  days,  unless  they  are  preserved; 
and  in  this  state  they  lose  that  natural  flavour  on  which 
their  value  chiefly  depends.  Many  of  the  finer  pears 
keep  only  for  a  short  time,  when  they  become  vapid 
and  flat :  but  there  are  apples  of  very  rich  and  vinous 
flavour,  which,  with  care,  can  be  preserved  till  the 
early  sorts  of  the  succeeding  season  come  in  to  sup- 
ply their  place. 

The  useful  qualities  of  the  apple  have  extended  its 
cultivation  throughout  Europe,  as  far  as  the  60th 
degree  of  latitude.  It  has  been  observed  by  a  dis- 
tinguished traveller,  that  the  commoner  fruit-trees, 
such  as  apples,  pears,  cherries,  and  apricots,  grow 


224          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

in  the  open  air,  wherever  oaks  thrive.*  As  we  pro- 
ceed farther  north,  the  apple  is  scarcely  known.  The 
people  of  Lapland  shewed  Linnaeus  what  they  called 
an  apple-tree,  which,  they  said,  bore  no  fruit,  because 
it  had  been  cursed  by  a  beggar-woman,  to  whom  the 
owner  of  the  tree  had  refused  some  of  its  produce. 
The  naturalist  found  that  it  was  the  common  elm,  a 
tree  also  rare  in  that  severe  climate. "f"  The  apple 
as  well  as  most  other  European  fruits,  which  now 
appear  indigenous,  is  probably  a  native  of  the  East. 
The  Prophet  Joel,  enumerating  the  trees  of  Syria, 
says,  "  the  vine  is  dried  up,  and  the  fig-tree  lan- 
guisheth;  the  pomegranate-tree,  the  plum-tree  also 
and  the  apple-tree,  even  all  the  trees  of  the  field,  are 
withered."  The  cultivated  apple  was  probably  scarce 
at  Rome,  in  the  time  of  Pliny;  for  he  states  that 
there  were  some  apple-trees  in  the  villages  near  the 
city  which  yielded  more  profit  than  a  small  farm.  The 
art  of  grafting  was  at  that  period  either  very  recently 
discovered,  or  comparatively  little  known.  This 
practice  must  evidently  have  belonged  to  an  advanced 
state  of  civilization.  It  is  remarkable  that  Moses,  in 
his  directions  to  the  Israelites  when  they  "  shall 
come  into  the  land,  and  shall  have  planted  all  man- 
ner of  trees  for  food,"J  makes  no  mention  of  the  art 
of  grafting.  Hesiod  and  Homer,  in  like  manner, 
have  no  allusion  to  a  practice  which  would  naturally 
have  formed  part  of  their  subject  had  it  existed  when 
they  wrote. §  The  art  of  grafting,  as  well  as  that 
of  pruning,  has  been  ascribed  to  an  accidental  origin. 
The  more  vigorous  shooting  of  a  vine,  after  a  goat 
had  broused  on  it,  is  said  to  have  suggested  the  one 
great  principle  in  the  management  of  fruit  trees; 

*  Von  Bach's  Travels,  p.  41.     4to. 

t  Linnaeus's  Tour  in  Lapland,  vol.  i.,  p.  23. 

|  Leviticus,  c.  xix.,  v.  23.       j  SeeGoguet,  Origine  des  Lois. 


THE    APPLE.  225 

and  it  is  probable  that  the  occasional  natural  union 
of  the  boughs  of  distinct  trees  may  have  shewn 
the  general  practicability  of  the  other.  Pliny  men- 
tions apple-trees  "  that  will  honour  the  first  grafters 
for  ever;"  and  this  enthusiastic  sort  of  praise  be- 
longs to  the  infancy  of  an  art,  when  mankind  are 
first  conscious  of  its  blessings,  and  therefore  not 
disposed  to  undervalue  them  through  their  familiarity. 
To  the  facility  of  multiplying  varieties  by  grafting,  is 
to  be  ascribed  the  amazing  extension  of  the  sorts  of 
apple,  probably  from  one  common  stock  The  va- 
rieties at  present  known  are  considerably  more  than 
a  thousand.  Of  late  years  these  varieties  have  been 
increased  in  a  remarkable  manner,  by  the  application 
of  the  pollen*  of  one  sort  to  the  blossom  of  another. 

Many  of  the  better  sorts  of  English  apples  were 
probably  at  first  introduced  into  this  country  from 
the  continent.  The  greater  part  of  our  names  of 
apples  are  French,  either  pure  or  corrupted.  Those 
varieties  which  had  been  celebrated  abroad  were 
spread  through  the  kingdom  by  their  cultivation  in 
the  gardens  of  the  religious  houses;  and  many  of 
these  fine  old  sorts  still  exist.  Thus  the  Nonpareil^ 
according  to  the  old  herbalists,  was  brought  from 
France  by  a  Jesuit  in  the  time  of  Queen  Mary,  and 
first  planted  hi  the  gardens  of  Oxfordshire.  The 
Os/m,  or  Jlrbroath  pippin,  an  ancient  Scotch  variety, 
was  either  introduced  or  extensively  cultivated  by  the 
monks  of  the  abbey  of  Aberbrothwick.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  celebrated  Golden  Pippin  has  been  con- 
sidered as  the  native  growth  of'  England;  and 
noticed  as  such  by  French  and  Dutch  writers.  It  is 
described  by  Duhamel  under  the  name  of  "  Pomme 
d'Or;  Reinette  d'Angleterre."  The  same  celebrated 

*  The  prolific  powder  contained  in  the  anther  of  the  flower. 

VOT,.    II.  2 


226  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

authority  on  fruit-trees  also  mentions  the  "  Grosse 
Reinette  d'Angleterre."  The  more  delicate  apples 
for  the  table,  such  as  the  pippins  were  probably 
very  little  known  here  till  the  latter  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century.  Fuller  states  that  one  Leonard 
Maschal,  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  the  reign  of  Henry 
VIII.,  brought  pippins  from  over  sea,  and  planted 
them  at  Plumstead  in  Sussex.  Pippins  are  so  called 
because  the  trees  were  raised  from  the  pips,  or  seeds; 
and  bore  the  apples  which  gave  them  celebrity,  with- 
out grafting.  In  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  the  same 
king  we  find  the  barking  of  apple-trees  declared  a  fe- 
lony ;  and  the  passing  of  the  law  had  probably  a  rela- 
tion to  the  more  extended  growth  of  the  fruit  through 
the  introduction  of  pippins.  l  Costard-monger'  is  an 
old  English  term  for  the  dealers  in  vegetables,  derived 
from  their  principal  commodity  of  apples;  the  cos- 
tard being  a  large  apple,  round  and  bulky  as  the 
head,  or  '  costard.'  If  we  may  deduce  any  meaning 
from  this  name,  which  is  the  same  as  '  coster,'  it 
would  appear  that  the  costard  or  large  apple,  was 
the  sort  in  common  use,  and  that  hence  the  name  of 
the  variety  became  synonymous  with  that  of  the 
species;  the  more  delicate  sorts  were  luxuries  un- 
known to  the  ordinary  consumers  of  our  native  fruits, 
till  they  were  rendered  common  by  the  planting  of 
orchards  in  Kent,  Sussex,  and  other  parts  of  the 
kingdom. 

The  growth  of  the  more  esteemed  apple-trees  had 
made  such  a  general  progress  in  half  a  century,  that 
we  find  Shakspeare  putting  these  words  in  the  mouth 
of  Justice  Shallow,  in  his  invitation  to  Falstaff: 
"  You  shall  see  mine  orchard,  where,  in  an  arbour,  we 
will  eat  a  last  year's  pippin  of  my  own  grafting."  Sir 
Hugh  Evans,  in  the  '  Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,'  says, 
"  I  will  make  an  end  of  my  dinner — there's  pippins 


THE    APPLE.  227 

and  cheese  to  come."  Pippins  were,  therefore,  in 
the  time  of  Shakspeare,  delicacies  for  the  dessert. 
But  in  another  fifty  years  the  national  industry  had 
rendered  the  produce  of  the  apple  an  important 
article  of  general  consumption.  The  fine  cider 
orchards  of  Herefordshire  began  to  be  planted  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  I.  The  adaptation  of  these  apples 
to  the  soil  was  quickly  discovered;  and  they  spread 
over  the  face  of  the  whole  country.  Of  the  varieties 
of  the  cider  apples,  the  Redstreak  and  the  Sline  were 
formerly  the  most  prized ;  and  the  cider  of  these  apples, 
and  the  perry  of  the  Squash  pear,  were  celebrated 
throughout  Europe.  At  the  time  when  cider  was  first 
manufactured  in  England  it  was  believed  that  it  would 
almost  wholly  supersede  the  use  of  foreign  wines. 
From  the  period  of  the  Norman  conquest  England 
carried  on  a  great  wine  trade  with  France,  principally 
with  Bordeaux,  and  the  neighbouring  provinces.  It 
increased  considerably  when  Henry  II.  married  the 
daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Aquitaine;  and  after  the 
kings  of  England  subsequently  became  possessed  of 
some  of  the  great  wine  provinces  of  France,  the  con- 
sumption of  their  produce  was  almost  universal. 
About  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  although  no 
wines  were  permitted  to  exceed  the  price  of  twelve- 
pence  per  gallon,  we  find  a  law  enacted,  by  which  no 
person,  except  those  who  could  expend  a  hundred 
marks  annually,  or  were  of  noble  birth,  should  keep 
in  his  house  any  vessel  of  wine  exceeding  ten  gal- 
lons,— a  regulation  which  would  suggest  that  the 
demand  for  wine  was  greater  than  the  supply, 
owing  probably  to  the  increase  of  the  middle  ranks 
of  society.  In  the  year  1635  we  find  a  patent 
granted  to  Francis  Chamberlayne,  for  making  wine 
from  the  dried  grapes  of  Spain  and  Portugal;  and 
the  patentee  set  forth  that  his  wines  would  keep 


228          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

good  during  several  years,  and  even  in  a  voyage 
under  the  line.*  This  circumstance  also  shews  that 
the  demand  for  the  luxury  of  wine  amongst  the  com- 
mercial classes  (who  had  become  of  great  number 
and  importance,  as  the  political  events  of  those 
times  fully  prove)  could  not  be  supplied  from  the 
wine  countries,  probably  on  account  of  the  prevalence 
of  false  principles  of  trade.  Cider,  therefore,  became 
a  general  beverage  before  the  time  of  Charles  II., 
though  it  had  been  partially  used  for  nearly  a  century 
before.  Gerard,  who  published  his  Herball,  as  al- 
ready mentioned,  about  the  close  of  Elizabeth's  reign, 
says,  in  his  quaint  way,  "  I  have  seen,  about  the  pas- 
tures and  hedgerows  of  a  worshipful  gentleman's 
dwelling,  two  miles  from  Hereford,  called  Mr.  Roger 
Badnome,  so  many  trees  of  all  sortes,  that  the  ser- 
vants drink,  for  the  most  part,  no  other  drink  but 
that  which  is  made  of  apples.  The  qualitie  is  such, 
that,  by  the  report  of  the  gentleman  himselfe,  the  par- 
son hath  for  tythe  many  hogsheads  of  cyder." 

During  the  reigns  of  William  III.  and  Anne,  when 
there  was  a  constant  succession  of  wars  with  France, 
the  use  of  cider  was  generally  inculcated,  as  tending 
to  the  permanent  exclusion  of  the  wines  of  our  great 
rival.  Philips,  a  contemporary  of  Addison,  wrote  a 
long  poem  in  praise  of  cider;  and  embodied  in  his 
work  a  good  deal  of  the  art  of  selecting  and  managing 
-apple-trees.  But  he  wrote  as  a  poet,  and  main- 
tained the  unwise  and  impolitic  doctrine  of  a  nation's 
wholly  depending  on  its  own  resources,  instead  of 
living  in  intercourse  with  its  neighbours,  and  thus 
advancing  the  comforts  and  riches  of  all.  After 
praising  the  cider  of  Hereford,  Philips  says, 

"  What  should  we  wish  for  more  ?  or  why,  in  quest 
Of  foreign  vintage,  insincere  and  mixed, 

*  Rymer's  Fcedera  ; — see  Pennant's  London. 


THE    APPLE.  229 

Traverse  the  extremes!  world  ?     Why  tempt  the  rage 

Of  the  rough  ocean,  when  our  native  glebe 

Imparts  from  bounteous  womb  annual  recruits 

Of  wine  delectable,  that  far  surmounts 

Gallic  or  Latin  grapes,  or  those  that  see 

The  setting  sun  near  Calpe's  towering  height  ?" 

We  have  at  length  learnt  that  the  truest  way  to 
advance  the  prosperity  of  nations,  is  by  exchanging 
the  best .  natural  products  of  one  country  for  those 
of  another.  If  we  are  to  drink  the  cider  of  Here- 
ford, in  preference  to  the  claret  of  Bordeaux,  for  the 
sole  reason  that  we  grow  it,  the  same  principle,  ap- 
plied to  ourselves  by  other  nations,  would  cut  us  off 
from  the  greater  part  of  that  commerce  with  the  whole 
world  which  constitutes  our  peculiar  superiority.  The 
interest  of  each  individual,  and  of  each  country,  is 
best  consulted  by  the  facilities  with  which  each  can 
secure  a  share  of  the  natural  advantages  and  the 
mechanical  skill  that  belong  to  the  rest.  The 
advice  of  the  well-meaning  poet  of  cider,  if  acted 
upon  by  individuals  as  well  as  nations,  (and  if  it  be 
applicable  to  the  one  it  must  be  applicable  to  the 
other,)  would  destroy  society  altogether,  by  making 
self  the  means  as  well  as  the  end  in  everything.  The 
freedom  of  commercial  intercourse  has  no  tendency 
to  the  repression  of  internal  improvement,  but  has  a 
contrary  effect.  The  finest  cider  and  perry  of  Here- 
fordshire is  brought  for  exportation  to  the  East  and 
West  Indies  and  to  America;  and  this  foreign  de- 
mand for  the  better  sorts  keeps  up  an  attention  in 
the  cultivators  which  domestic  consumption  alone 
could  perhaps  not  induce. 

The  Cider  counties  of  England  have  always  been 
considered  as  highly  interesting.  They  lie  some- 
thing in  the  form  of  a  horseshoe  round  the  Bristol 
channel;  and  the  best  are,  Worcester  and  Hereford, 

VOL.    II.  2* 


230          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

on  the  north  of  the  channel,  and  Somerset  and 
Devon  on  the  South.  In  appearance,  they  have  a 
considerable  advantage  over  those  counties  in  which 
grain  alone  is  cultivated.  The  blossoms  cover  an 
extensive  district  with  a  profusion  of  flowers  in  the 
spring,  and  the  fruit  is  beautiful  in  autumn.  Some  of 
the  orchards  occupy  a  space  of  forty  or  fifty  acres;  and 
the  trees  being  at  considerable  intervals,  the  land  is  also 
kept  in  tillage.  A  great  deal  of  practical  acquaintance 
with  the  qualities  of  soil  is  required  in  the  culture 
of  apple  and  pear  trees;  and  his  skill  in  the  adapta- 
tion of  trees  to  their  situation  principally  determines 
the  success  of  the  manufacturer  of  cider  and  perry. 
The  produce  of  the  orchards  is  very  fluctuating;  and 
the  growers  seldom  expect  an  abundant  crop  more 
than  once  in  three  years.  The  quantity  of  apples 
required  to  make  a  hogshead  of  cider  is  from  twenty- 
four  to  thirty  bushels;  and  in  a  good  year  an  acre  of 
orchard  will  produce  somewhere  about  six  hundred 
bushels,  or  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  hogsheads. 
The  cider  harvest  is  in  September.  When  the 
season  is  favourable,  the  heaps  of  apples  collected 
at  the  presses  are  immense — consisting  of  hundreds 
of  tons.  If  any  of  the  vessels  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  cider  are  of  lead,  the  beverage  is  not  wholesome. 
The  price  of  a  hogshead  of  cider  generally  varies 
from  2J.  to  5/.,  according  to  the  season  and  quality; 
but  cider  of  the  finest  growth  has  sometimes  been 
sold  as  high  as  20/.  by  the  hogshead,  direct  from  the 
press — a  price  equal  to  that  of  many  of  the  fine  wines 
of  the  Rhine  or  the  Garonne. 

The  varieties  of  the  apple  are  so  many,  and  they 
are  so  rapidly  multiplied,  that  it  would  be  impossible 
for  us,  within  our  limits,  to  present  any  account  of 
them  which  should  be  either  useful  or  interesting. 


THE    APPLE.  231 

The  knowledge  of  varieties  is  a  part,  and  a  very 
important  one,  of  the  science  of  the  practical  horti- 
culturists; and  one  of  the  most  valuable  objects  which 
individual  growers  of  fruit,  or  societies  for  the  encou- 
ragement of  experiments  in  cultivation,  could  propose 
to  themselves,  would  be  to  diminish  the  embarrassing 
list  of  varieties,  by  directing  their  attention  to  the 
best  sorts  alone.  In  a  great  public  establishment, 
such  as  the  gardens  of  the  Horticultural  Society,  it  is 
perhaps  necessary  that  almost  every  known  variety 
should  be  found.  Their  catalogue  presents  a  list  of 
more  than  twelve  hundred  sorts  of  apple.  In  the  in- 
troductory observations  to  this  list,  the  difficulties  pro- 
duced by  this  almost  unlimited  choice  are  thus  noticed: 
— :"  A  considerable  reduction  of  the  names  is  to  be 
anticipated  whenever  a  general  comparison  of  the 
varieties  can  be  effected;  but,  alter  all  the  discovery 
of  synonyms  which  can  be  expected,  the  list  will 
remain  far  more  extensive  than  can  be  either  desirable 
or  useful.  No  sufficient  reduction,  however,  can 
effectually  take  place  until  a  public  declaration  shall 
be  made  of  those  sorts  which  are  undeserving  further 
cultivation."* 

Seeing,  therefore,  the  embarrassing  extent  of  the 
varieties  of  the  apple  in  particular,  and  of  fruits 
generally,  and  knowing  that  the  progress  of  experi- 
ment is  daily  adding  to  their  number,  we  forbear  to 
touch  at  all  upon  this  branch  of  the  subject.  The 
general  history  of  fruits  is  full  of  amusing  information; 
and  to  that,  in  the  present  work,  we  feel  it  proper  to 
confine  our  attention. 

It  has  been  asserted  that  many  of  the  fine  old 
varieties  of  the  apple  are  now  going  into  decay.  This 
may  be  owing  partly  to  their  being  more  generally 

*  See  a  valuable  paper  on  the  '  Formation  of  a  Select  Col- 
lection of  Apple  Trees,'  by  Mr.  Sabine.  Hort.  Trans,  vol.  iii. 


232  VEGETABLE     SUBSTANCES. 

cultivated,  and  consequently  grown  in  a  great  variety 
of  soils  and  situations,  some  of  which  would  suit 
them,  and  others  not;  and  that  this  is  the  case  may 
be  inferred  from  the  fact,  that  in  some  places  these 
sorts  are  to  be  found  healthy  enough.  There  are 
many  theories  upon  this  subject,  which  form  subjects 
of  curious  inquiry  to  the  practical  horticulturist. 

American  apples  *  are  brought  into  England,  as 
well  as  many  French  apples.  About  twenty  thousand 
bushels  is  the  average  amount  of  the  importation. 

THE    PEAR — Pyrus  communis. 

Amongst  the  trees  which  Homer  describes  as  form- 
ing the  orchard  of  Laertes,  the  father  of  Ulysses,  we 
find  the  pear.*  Pliny  mentions  several  sorts  of  pears 
which  were  grown  in  Italy,  and  particularly  mentions 
that  a  fermented  liquor  was  formed  of  their  expressed 
juice.  It  is  probable  that  the  Romans  brought  the 
cultivated  pear  to  England,  and  that  the  monks  paid 
great  attention  to  its  varieties.  There  is  a  tradition 
that  King  John  was  poisoned  in  a  dish  of  pears  by 
the  monks  of  Swinsted;  and  the  tale,  whether  true 
or  false,  would  imply  that  the  fruit  was  such  as  the 
churchmen  would  offer  to  the  monarch  as  a  luxury. 
In  an  old  book  of  household  accounts  of  Henry 
VIII.,  there  is  an  item  of  twopence  "  to  a  woman 
who  gaff  the  Kyng  peres;"  and  in  the  time  of 
Gerard  we  find  that  great  attention  was  paid  to 
their  growth  by  the  nurserymen  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  London.  The  old  herbalist,  after  declaring 
that  in  his  time  to  write  of  the  sorts  of  apples  and 
pears,  "  and  those  exceeding  good,"  would  require 
11  a  particular  volume,"  adds — "  Master  Richard 

iy,  1.  xxiv.  v.  337. 


THE    PEAR.  233 

Pointer  has  them  all  growing  in  his  ground  at 
Twickenham,  near  London,  who  is  a  most  cunning 
and  curious  grafter  and  planter  of  all  manner  of  rare 
fruits;  and  also  in  the  ground  of  an  excellent  grafter 
and  painful  planter,  Master  Henry  Bunbury,  of 
Touthil-street,  near  unto  Westminster;  and  likewise 
in  the  ground  of  a  diligent  and  most  affectionate 
lover  of  plants,  Master  Warner,  neere  Horsly  Down, 
by  London;  and  in  divers  other  grounds  about 
London."  The  neighbourhood  of  Worcester  was  pro- 
bably then  celebrated,  as  at  the  present  day,  for  the 
cultivation  of  this  fruit,  for  three  pears  are  borne  in 
the  arms  of  the  city.  We  have  already  alluded  to 
the  manufacture  of  perry,  which  is  almost  peculiar  to 
Worcestershire. 

Most  of  the  fine  sorts  of  pears  are  of  continental 
origin,  the  horticulturists  of  France  and  the  Nethe- 
lands  having  paid  more  attention  to  that  species  of 
fruit  than  those  of  England.  As  these  varieties  have 
retained  their  original  names,  a  good  many  laughable 
corruptions  have  been  produced  in  their  popular 
nomenclature:  in  just  the  same  way  that  "the 
Boulogne  Mouth"  is  now  rendered  "  the  Bull  and 
Mouth."  Thus  the  Bon- Chretien  is  converted  into 
the  Boncrutching ;  the  Beurr'e  into  the  Bury;  the 
Chaumontelle  into  the  Charmingtel.  Such  odd 
names  as  the  Bishop's- Thumb,  and  many  others 
which  our  fruiterers  use,  may  probably  be  traced  to 
a  similar  cause.  In  the  names  of  apples  there  is 
the  same  corruption, — as  Runnet  for  Reinette.  The 
names  of  fruits  in  all  countries  occasionally  pre- 
sent some  laughable  anomalies,  such  as  the  "  Bon- 
Chretien  TWc,"  one  of  the  finest  of  the  French  pears. 

The  Chinese,  who  are  said  to  carry  the  cultiva- 
tion of  fruit  to  much  greater  perfection  than  the 
European  gardeners,  are  stated  by  Marco  Polo  to 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

have  pears,  white  in  the  inside,  melting,  and  with  a 
fragrant  smell,  of  the  enormous  weight  often  pounds 
each. 

The  wood  of  the  pear  is  much  firmer  than  that  of 
the  apple,  and  it  is  much  less  liable  to  be  attacked 
by  insects,  or  to  decay.  In  some  of  the  old  orchards, 
where  the  apple-trees  have  wholly  disappeared,  the 
pears  are  in  full  vigour,  and  bear  abundantly.  This 
is  remarkably  the  case  at  the  old  Abbey  garden  at 
Lindores,  on  the  south  bank  of  the  Tay,  in  the 
county  of  Fife:  disease  could  have  nothing  to  do 
with  the  death  of  the  apple-trees  there,  as  the  soil  is 
one  of  the  very  best  for  apples  in  the  kingdom, 
being  fine  strong  black  loam  to  a  great  depth.  Yet 
there  are  many  old  apple-trees  in  the  kingdom.  At 
Horton,  in  Buckinghamshire,  where  Milton  spent 
some  of  his  earlier  years,  there  is  an  apple-tree  still 
growing,  of  which  the  oldest  people  remember  to 
have  heard  it  said  that  the  poet  was  accustomed  to  sit 
under  it.  And  upon  the  low  leads  of  the  church  at 
Rumsey,  in  Hampshire,  there  is  an  apple-tree  still  bear- 
ing fruit,  which  is  said  to  be  two  hundred  years  old. 

The  fruit  catalogue  of  the  Horticultural  Society 
contains  above  six  hundred  varieties  of  the  pear; 
and  it  is  there  observed,  that  "  the  newly  intro- 
duced Flemish  kinds  are  of  much  more  importance 
than  the  greater  part  of  the  sorts  which  have  been 
hitherto  cultivated  in  Great  Britain,  and  when 
brought  into  use  will  give  quite  a  new  feature  to 
the  dessert." 

THE  QUINCE — Cydonia  vulgaris. 

The  quince  was  introduced  into  Europe,  according 
to  Pliny,  from  the  island  of  Crete.  From  the  large- 


THE    QUINCE,  235 

ness  of  this  fruit,  and  its  splendid  colour,  it  is  not  im- 
probable that  it  was  the  same  with  the  apples  of  the 
Hesperides;  for  Galesio,  in  his  treatise  on  the  orange, 
has  shewn  that  the  orange  tree  was  unknown  to  the 
Greeks,  and  that  it  did  not  naturally  grow  in  those 
parts  where  the  gardens  of  the  Hesperides  were 
placed  by  them.  The  fruit  of  the  quince,  however  use- 
ful and  ornamental  it  may  be  in  some  respects,  does 
not  warrant  such  honours,  and  in  truth  has  not  con- 
tinued to  receive  them;  for  the  French,  who  have 
paid  great  attention  to  its  cultivation,  particularly 
for  grafting  pears  upon  its  stocks,  call  the  quince 
tree  "  coignassier"  probably,  according  to  Duhamel, 
because  the  disagreeable  odour  of  the  fruit  re- 
quires that  it  should  be  placed  in  a  corner  (com)  of 
the  orchard  or  garden.  In  the  south  of  France,  par- 
ticularly on  the  borders  of  the  Garonne,  the  quince 
is  very  extensively  grown;  and  the  peasants  prepare 
from  it  a  marmalade  which  they  call  cotignac.  The 
term  marmalade  is  derived  from  the  Portuguese 
name  for  the  quince,  marmelo.  Gerard  says,  that 
in  his  time  quince-trees  were  planted  in  the  hedges 
of  gardens  and  vineyards;  and  marmalade,  two 
centuries  ago,  seems  to  have  been  in  general  use, 
principally  from  a  belief  that  it  possessed  valuable 
medicinal  properties.  The  seeds  of  the  quince  are 
still  used  in  medicine,  on  account  of  the  great  quan- 
tity of  mucilage  which  they  yield  to  boiling  water. 

There  are  eight  varieties  of  the  quince  noticed 
in  the  fruit  catalogue  of  the  Horticultural  Society. 
Amongst  these  the  Chinese  quince  (  Cydonia  Sinensis) 
is  inserted  on  account  of  the  resemblance  which  its 
fruit  has.  to  that  of  the  common  quince;  although 
in  France,  where  only  in  Europe  it  has  produced 
fruit,  it  is  not  considered  eatable.  The  Chinese 


236          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

quince  was  introduced  into  England  and  Holland 
nearly  forty  years  ago,  and  was  planted  in  France 
about  ten  years  later.  The  tree  has  much  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  common  quince,  as  well  as  the  fruit. 
It  is  remarkable  for  the  number  and  brilliancy  of  its 
flowers. 

ORNAMENTAL  CRABS. 

The  crab  of  Siberia,  which  had  been  introduced 
into  this  country  within  the  last  fitty  years,  has 
contributed  to  the  extension  of  our  varieties  of 
apple,  by  offering  a  valuable  stock  for  grafting. 
The  fruits  thus  produced  by  the  union  of  our 
richest  apples  and  the  Siberian  crab  are  remark- 
ably hardy  and  luxuriant.  The  Siberian  crab  dif- 
fers in  a  peculiar  manner  from  our  native  crab.  It 
furnishes  one  of  the  many  evidences  of  the  con- 
tinued influence  of  original  climate  upon  vegetables, 
when  they  are  naturalized  in  another  region.  The 
winters  of  Siberia  are  intensely  cold,  the  change  to 
summer  is  sudden,  and  the  heat  equally  violent. 
Our  own  changes  of  temperature  are  much  slower, 
and  more  irregular.  Thus,  when  the  native  crab 
scarcely  shews  signs  of  life,  the  Siberian  variety  puts 
forth  its  leaves,  blossoms,  and  bears  fruit,  early  even 
in  an  unfavourable  season.*  The  flowers  of  the 
Siberian  crab  are  beautiful;  and  its  fruit  is  of  a  sharp, 
yet  pleasant,  flavour.  There  are  many  pretty  va- 
rieties of  PyrtUj  which  are  principally  cultivated  in 
our  gardens  for  their  flowers.  The  Chinese  crab 
(Pyrus  spectabilis}  is  most  showy  and  ornamental. 
It  grows  to  the  height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet.  Its 
blossoms  are  of  a  pale  red,  but  they  are  of  short 

*  See  Hort.  Trans.,  vol.  i. 


THE    MEDLAR.  237 

duration.  Dr.  Fothergill  is  considered  to  have  in- 
troduced this  native  of  China,  which  he  cultivated  in 
1780.  The  Japan  crab,  or  quince,  (Pyrus,  or  Cijdo- 
nia  Japonica,*)  was  brought  here  about  1796;  but 
it  was  described  as  a  very  rare  plant  in  the  Botani- 
cal Magazine  of  1803.  Its  blossoms  are  of  a  deep 
/ed,  and  its  flowers  succeed  each  other  during  many 
months.  The  white  variety  of  the  Pyrus  Japonica 
is  a  yet  more  recent  introduction.  It  blooms  abun- 
dantly in  April  and  May;  and  as  it  will  grow  in 
almost  any  soil,  and  may  be  increased  by  layers  and 
cuttings,  is  very  valuable  as  an  ornamental  tree. 
The  Pyrus  pollvsria  (figured  in  Loddiges'  Botanical 
Cabinet,  vol.  xi.)  is  a  native  of  Germany.  Its 
flowers  are  beautiful,  and  its  fruit  not  unpleasant. 
The  Pyrus  salicifolia  is  said  to  have  been  introduced 
into  this  country  by  Pallas,  the  celebrated  naturalist. 
He  found  it  in  sandy  deserts,  between  the  rivers 
Terec  and  Cuma.  It  grows  also  on  Caucasus  and 
in  Persia.  With  us  it  is  a  small  tree,  with  pendulous 
branches,  and  beautiful  silvery  leaves  * 

THE  MEDLAR — Mcspilus  Germanica. 

The  medlar  is  a  fruit  resembling  the  smaller 
apples,  and  has  a  good  deal  of  flavour,  but  is  not 
fit  for  use  until  it  is  very  ripe.  This  ripeness  is  sel- 
dom or  never  attained  while  the  fruit  remains  on  the 
tree.  It  is  generally  understood  to  be  a  native  of 
the  south  of  Europe;  but  it  has  been  naturalized, 
though  rarely,  in  the  hedgerows  in  England. 

The  common  medlar  .is  a  middle  or  small-sized 
branching  tree ;  covered  with  spines  in  the  wild  state, 
and  having  ash-coloured  bark.  In  Sicily,  according 

*Loddiges'  Cabinet,  vol.  xii. 
VOL.   n.  3 


238          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

to  Miller,  it  rises  to  be  a  large  tree,  with  a  straight 
stem,  and  the  fruit  shaped  like  a  pear.  The  Dutch 
medlar,  which  is  the  kind  most  cultivated  in  Eng- 
land does  not  reach  a  great  height,  and  is  crooked 
and  unsightly  in  the  branches.  The  leaves  are  much 
larger  than  those  of  the  common  medlar,  and  they 
are  downy  on  their  under  sides.  The  fruit,  also,  is 
larger,  and  so  are  the  flowers;  but  it  is  inferior  in 
pungency  and  flavour  to  the  smaller  sort,  which  is 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Nottingham  medlar. 

The  timber  of  the  medlar  is  very  hard  and  durable. 
The  tree  is  also  rather  a  slow  grower,  and  lasts  to  a 
great  age. 


CHAPTER   II. 


Pulpy  Fruits  borne  by  Shrubs  and  Trees. — Pomegranate  ;  Fig ;  Vine. 

PULPY  fruits  are  distinguished  from  others  by  the 
softness  of  their  texture,  in  which  the  seeds  lie  im- 
bedded. They  differ  very  much  among  themselves 
in  botanical  characters, — some  being  berries,  others 
pulpy  receptacles;  but  the  arrangement  is  sufficiently 
precise  for  our  purpose. 


THE  POMEGRANATE — Punica   Granatum. 

Before  the  peach,  the  nectarine,  and  the  apricot 
had  travelled  from  Persia  to  the  more  western  coun- 
tries on  the  borders  of  the  Red  Sea,  the  pomegranate 
was  there  assiduously  cultivated,  and  held  in  the 
greatest  esteem.  In  the  wilderness,  when  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  murmured  for  the  fruits  of  Egypt, 


240  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

they  exclaimed,  "  It  is  no  place  of  seed,  or  of  figs  or 
of  vines  or  of  pomegranates."  On  the  borders  of 
the  promised  land,  Moses  described  it  as  "a  land  of 
wheat,  and  barley,  'and  vines,  and  fig-trees,  and 
pomegranates;  a  land  of  oil-olive,  and  honey."  In 
the  Canticles,  Solomon  speaks  of  "  an  orchard  of 
pomegranates,  with  pleasant  fruits."  A  tree,  there- 
fore, which  partakes  of  the  antiquity  of  the  vine,  the 
fig,  and  the  olive, — and  which,  in  point  of  utility,  is 
numbered  with  the  grain-bearing  plants,  and  with 
honey,  all  constituting  the  principal  food  of  the 
nations  of  antiquity,  in  their  early  stages  of  civiliza- 
tion,— must  possess  a  considerable  historical  interest. 
It  is  probable  that  the  pomegranate,  differing  from 
the  stone  fruits,  travelled  from  the  West  to  the  East. 
Pliny  says  that  it  is  a  native  of  Carthage,  as  its  name 
(Punica  Granalutn)  imports.  Yet  as  it  is  found 
wild  in  the  same  botanical  regions  of  Europe, — that 
is,  in  countries  having  the  same  temperature  as  the 
northern  coasts  of  Africa, — it  is  probably  indigenous 
there  also.  It  is  still  common  in  Barbary,  (where,  ac- 
cording to  Shaw,  the  fruit  often  weighs  a  pound,  and 
is  three  or  four  inches  in  diameter,*)  in  the  south  of 
France,  in  Italy,  in  Spain,  and  throughout  the  East. 
The  Jews  employ  the  fruit  in  their  religious  ceremo- 
nials; and  it  has  entered  into  the  heathen  mytho- 
logy— for  in  the  isle  of  Eubcea  there  was  formerly  a 
statue  of  Juno,  holding  in  one  hand  a  sceptre,  and 
in  the  other  a  pomegranate. 

This  general  diffusion  of  the  pomegranate  through- 
out the  climates  suited  to  it,  implies  that  it  possesses 
highly  valuable  properties.  In  hot  countries  its  utility 
is  incontestable;  for  its  juice  is  most  grateful  to  the 
palate,  and  assuages  thirst  in  a  degree  quite  peculiar 
to  it  from  its  pleasant  acid — an  acid  so  soft,  that  the 

*  Travels,  vol.  i. 


THE    POMEGRANATE.  241 

pomegranate  may  still  be  called  "  full  of  melting 
sweetness.*"  The  bark  is  very  astringent,  and  was 
anciently  employed  in  dyeing  leather  :  the  yellow 
Morocco  of  Tunis  is  still  tinted  with  an  extract  from 
it.  The  flowers  were  also  used  to  dye  cloth  of  alight 
red.  The  tree  is  easily  propagated  by  cuttings. "f 

The  pomegranate  tree  attains  the  height  of  about 
twenty  feet.  The  branches  are  thick,  and  in  some  of 
the  varieties  they  are  armed  with  spines.  The  leaves, 
which  are  of  a  beautiful  green,  stand  opposite,  and 
are  about  three  inches  long,  and  half  an  inch  broad 
at  the  middle.  The  flowers  come  out  at  the  end  of 
the  branches  5  they  are  sometimes  in  clusters  of 
three  or  four,  and  the  times  of  their  blowing  are  so 
irregular,  that  the  succession  is  often  continued  for 
months.  The  petals  are  handsome,  very  thick,  and 
fleshy.  The  beauty  of  the  tree,  independently  of  its 
fruit,  has  caused  it  to  be  planted  for  ornament  in  the 
South  of  Europe,  and  in  the  East.  "  The  nightin- 
gale," says  Russel,  in  his  account  of  Aleppo,  "  sings 
from  the  pomegranate  groves  in  the  day-time.'' 

In  England,  the  fruit  very  seldom  arrives  at  ma- 
turity ;  but  the  tree  is  highly  prized  as  an  ornament, 
the  flowers  being  of  a  bright  scarlet  colour,  and 
(especially  the  double  ones)  very  handsome.  Their 
odour,  too,  is  as  fragrant  as  their  colour  is  bright. 
The  longevity  of  the  pomegranate  tree  is  remarkable. 
At  Paris  and  at  Versailles  there  are  specimens  which 
are  distinctly  ascertained  to  have  existed  more  than 
two  centuries.  The  pomegranate,  even  at  Paris,  will 
not  bear  exposure  in  the  open  air  too  early  in  the 
spring  ;  but  it  is  not  quite  so  delicate  as  the  orange, 
and  is  therefore  generally  removed  from  the  houses 
eight  or  ten  days  earlier. 

It  is  stated  that  the  pomegranate  was  first  culti- 
vated in  England  in  the  time  of  Henry  VIII.  Ge- 
*  Moore.  t  See  p.  320, 

vol..   ii.  3* 


242 


rard  says  he  reared  -several  plants  from  the  seeds  ; 
and  it  is  mentioned  amongst  the  trees  that  bore  fruit 
in  the  orangery  of  Charles  I. 


THE  FIG — Ficus  carica. 

The  traditions  of  the  Greeks  carried  the  origin  of  the 
fig  back  to  the  remotest  antiquity.  It  was  probably 
known  to  the  people  of  the  East  before  the  Cerealia 
(wheat,  barley,  &c.);  and  stood  in  the  same  relation 
to  men  living  in  the  primitive  condition  of  society 
as  the  banana  does  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  South  Ame- 
rica, at  the  present  day.  With  little  trouble  of  cultiva- 
tion, it  supplied  their  principle  necessities;  and  offered 
not  an  article  of  occasional  luxury,  but  of  constant 
food,  whether  in  a  fresh  or  a  dried  state.  As  we  pro- 
ceed to  a  more  advanced  period  of  the  history  of  the 
species,  we  still  find  the  fig  an  object  of  general 
attention.  The  want  of  blossom  on  the  fig-tree 
was  considered  as  one  of  the  most  grievous  calami- 
ties by  the  Jews.  Cakes  of  figs  were  included  in 
the  presents  of  provisions  by  which  the  widow  of 
JNabal  appeased  the  wrath  of  David.*  In  Greece, 
when  Lycurgus  decreed  that  the  Spartan  men  should 
dine  in  a  common  hall,  flour,  wine,  cheese,  and  figs 
*  1  Samuel,  chap,  xxv.,  v.  18. 


THE    FIG.  243 

were  the  principal  contributions  of  each  individual 
to  the  general  stock.  The  Athenians  considered 
figs  an  article  of  such  necessity  that  their  exportation 
from  Attica  was  prohibited.  Either  the  temptation 
to  evade  this  law  must  have  been  great,  or  it  must 
have  been  disliked  ;  for  the  name  which  distinguished 
those  who  informed  against  the  violators  of  the  law, 

crvxatpavToti, (from      ffftxct,     a      fig,      and      (fciivw,      to 

shew,)  became  a  name  of  reproach,  from  which  we 
obtain  our  word  sycophant.  As  used  by  our  older 
writers,  sycophant  means  a  tale-bearer;  and  the  French 
employ  the  word  to  designate  a  liar  and  impostor  gene- 
rally— not  a  flatterer  merely.  At  Rome  the  fig  was 
carried  next  to  the  vine  in  the  processions  in  honour 
of  Bacchus,  as  the  patron  of  plenty  and  joy  ;  and 
Bacchus  was  supposed  to  have  derived  his  corpu- 
lency and  vigour,  not  from  the  vine,  but  from  the  fig. 
All  these  circumstances  indicate  that  the  fig  contri- 
buted very  largely  to  the  support  of  man;  and  we 
may  reasonably  account  for  this  from  the  facility  with 
which  it  is  cultivated  in  climates  of  moderate  tem- 
perature. Like  the  cerealia,  it  appears  to  flourish 
in  a  very  considerable  range  of  latitude  ;  and  even 
in  our  own  country  frequently  produces  fine  fruit, 
without  much  difficulty,  in  the  open  air.  Yet  the 
tree  is  not  generally  cultivated  except  in  very  favour- 
able situations  ;  and  it  must  belong  to  more  genial 
climates  to  realize  the  ancient  description  of  peace 
and  security,  which  assigns  the  possession  of  these 
best  blessings  of  Heaven  to  "  every  man  under  his 
own  fig-tree." 

The  fig  consists  of  a  pulp,  containing  a  number  of 
seed-like  pericarps,  inclosed  in  a  rind.  There  is 
something  very  singular  in  the  fructification  of  the 
Ficus  cc.rica.  It  has  no  visible  flower  ;  for  the  fruit 
a  rises  immediately  from  the  joints  of  the  tree,  in  the 
form  of  little  buds,  with  a  perforation  at  the  end,  but 


244          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

not  opening  or  shewing  anything  like  petals,  or  the 
ordinary  parts  of  fructification.  As  the  fig  enlarges, 
the  flower  comes  to  maturity  in  its  concealment  ;  and 
in  the  eastern  countries  the  fruit  is  improved  by  a  sin- 
gular operation  known  by  the  name  of  caprification. 
This  is  performed  by  suspending  by  threads,  above 
the  cultivated  figs,  branches  of  the  wild  fig,  which  are 
full  of  a  species  of  cynips.  When  the  insect  has 
become  winged,  it  quits  the  wild  figs  and  penetrates 
the  cultivated  ones,  for  the  purpose  of  laying  its  eggs; 
and  thus  it  appears  both  to  ensure  the  fructification 
by  dispersing  the  pollen,  and  afterwards  to  hasten  the 
ripening  by  puncturing  the  pulp,  and  causing  a  dis- 
persion or  circulation  of  the  nutritious  juices.  In 
France,  this  operation  is  imitated  by  inserting  straws 
dipped  in  olive  oil. 

The  double,  and,  in  some  climates,  the  treble,  crop 
of  the  fig-tree,  is  one  of  the  most  curious  circum- 
stances belonging  to  its  natural  history,  and  further 
illustrates  the  value  attached  to  it  in  the  countries 
of  the  East.  It  offers  the  people  fruit  through  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  year.  The  first  ripe  figs, 
according  to  Dr.  Shaw,  are  called  boccore,  and  come 
to  maturity  about  the  latter  end  of  June  ;  though, 
like  other  trees,  they  yield  a  few  ripe  before  the  full 
season.  These  few  are  probably  of  inferior  value  ; 
for  the  prophet  Hosea  says,  "  I  found  Israel  like 
grapes  in  the  wilderness  ;  I  saw  your  fathers  as  the 
first-ripe  in  the  fig-tree  at  her  first  time."  When  the 
boccore  draws  near  to  perfection,  the  kamiouse,  or 
summer  fig,  begins  to  be  formed.  This  is  the  crop 
which  is  dried.  When  the  karmouse  ripens  in  Syria 
and  Barbary  there  appears  a  third  crop,  which  often 
hangs  and  ripens  upon  the  tree  after  the  leaves  are 
shed. 

The  time  of  gathering  the  summer-fig  in  the  Le- 
vant, with  its  corresponding  process  of  drying  and 


THE    FIG.  245 

packing  for  the  European  market,  is  one  of  consider 
able   bustle   and  activity.     The  principal  seat  of  this 
commerce  is  Smyrna. 

The  import  of  figs  to  Great  Britain  alone,  which  is 
principally  from  Turkey,  amounts  to  nine  hundred  tons 
annually,  subject  to  a  duty  of  I/.  Is.  per  cwt.  Dry 
figs  form,  also,  a  very  considerable  article  of  com- 
merce in  Provence,  Italy,  and  Spain;  beside  afford- 
ing, as  in  the  East,  a  chief  article  of  sustenance 
to  the  native  population.  In  Spain  the  principal 
exports  of  dried  figs  are  from  the  provinces  of  Anda- 
lusia and  Valencia;  though  the  fruit  grows,  more  or 
less,  in  every  province.*  In  the  northern  parts  of 
France  there  are  many  fig  gardens,  particularly  at 
Argenteuil. 

It  is  probable  that  if  the  fresh  fig  were  much 
esteemed  by  the  people  of  this  country,  the  tree  would 
be  more  extensively  cultivated  here  in  favourable  situ- 
ations, such  as  our  southern  coast.  But  it  would 
seem,  from  our  old  writers,  and  indeed  from  a  com- 
mon expression  even  of  the  present  day,  that,  from 
some  association  ot  ideas,  the  fig  was  an  object  of 
contempt.  "  Figo  for  thy  friendship,"  says  Pistol. "j" 
Steevens,  the  commentator  on  Shakspeare,  thinks  that 
11  the  fig  of  Spain,"  mentioned  in  many  of  our  old 
poets,  alluded  "to  the  custom  of  giving  poisoned  figs 
to  those  who  were  the  objects  of  Spanish  or  Italian  re- 
venge;" and  hence  probably,  a  vulgar  prejudice  against 
the  fruit.  We  have,  however,  old  trees  still  remain- 
ing in  some  gardens,  which  bear  good  crops.  These 
are  generally  trained  against  walls;  but  fig-trees 
have  also  been  planted  as  standards  here  with  success. 
We  shall  mention  a  few  instances  of  each  case. 

The  fig-tree  is  said  to  have  been  first  brought  into 
England,  in  1525,  by  Cardinal  Pole;  though  probably 
it  was  introduced  before,  both  by  the  Romans  and  the 

*Laborde's  View  of  Spain,  vol.  iv.        t  Henry  V- 


246          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

monks.  The  specimens  came  from  Italy,  and  are 
still  in  the  archbishop's  gardens  at  Lambeth.  They 
are  of  the  white  Marseilles  kind,  and  bear  excellent 
fruit.  In  the  course  of  their  long  existence,  they 
have  attained  a  size  far  exceeding  the  standard  fig- 
tree  in  its  native  situations.  They  cover  a  space  of 
fifty  feet  in  height,  and  forty  in  breadth.  The  trunk 
of  the  one  is  twenty-eight,  and  the  other  twenty-one 
inches  in  circumference.  In  the  severe  winter  of 
1813-14,  those  venerable  trees  were  greatly  injured; 
and,  in  consequence  of  the  injury,  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  cut  the  principal  stems  down  nearly  to  the 
ground;  but  the  vegetative  powers  of  the  roots  re- 
mained unimpaired,  and  they  are  shooting  up  with 
great  vigour. 

In  the  garden  of  the  manor-house  at  Mitcham, 
which  was  formerly  the  private  estate  of  Archbishop 
Cranmer,  there  was  another  fig-tree  of  the  same  sort, 
which  is  generally  understood  to  have  been  planted 
by  that  prelate.  It  was  low,  compared  with  the  trees 
at  Lambeth,  but  had  a  thicker  stem.  It  was  destroyed 
some  time  before  the  close  of  the  last  century. 

Another  celebrated  fig-tree  was  in  in  the  Dean's 
garden  at  Winchester.  It  bore  a  small  red  fig,  and 
was  in  a  healthy  state  in  the  year  1757.  It  was  in- 
closed in  a  wooden  frame,  which  had  a  glass  door, 
with  two  windows  on  each  side,  by  which  the  sun  and 
air  were  admitted,  while  the  frame  protected  it  from 
the  wind  and  rain.  On  the  stone  wall  to  which  the 
tree  was  nailed,  there  were  several  inscriptions;  and, 
among  the  rest,  one  which  mentioned  that,  in  the 
year  1623,  King  James  I.  "tasted  the  fruit  of  this 
tree  with  great  pleasure."  That  tree  also  has  been 
destroyed. 

A  few  years  since,  there  was  a  fine  old  fig-tree  at 
the  back  of  a  house,  in  King-street,  Covent-Garden. 
The  trunk  has  now  been  cut  down  to  build  a  wall 


THE    FIG.  247 

where  it  grew;  but  shoots  are  springing  up  from  the 
root.  This  tree  was  doubtless  one  of  the  Convent 
Garden;  which,  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  bounded 
the  Strand,  on  the  north,  extending  from  St.  Martin's 
Lane  to  Drury  Lane — these  two  lanes  being  the  only 
approaches  to  the  neighbouring  village  of  St.  Giles. 

The  Pocock  Fig  Tree  is  one  of  the  most  celebrated 
in  this  country,  and  was  once  supposed  to  have 
been  the  first  of  the  white  Marseilles  figs  introduced 
into  England.  The  tradition  is,  that  it  was  brought 
from  Aleppo  by  Dr.  Pocock,  the  celebrated  traveller, 
and  planted  in  the  garden  of  the  Regius  Professor  of 
Hebrew  at  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  in  the  year  1648. 
An  extract  from  a  communication  by  Mr.  William 
Baxter,  curator  of  the  Botanical  Garden  at  Oxford, 
read  before  the  Horticultural  Society  in  1819,  con- 
tains the  latest  history  of  this  tree.  It  received  con- 
siderable damage  from  the  fire  that  happened  at  Christ 
Church  on  the  3rd  of  March,  1809:  till  that  time,  the 
large  trunk  mentioned  by  Dr.  John  Sibthorpe,  in  Mar- 
tyn's  edition  of  Miller's  Gardener's  Dictionary,  re- 
mained. In  order  to  preserve  it  from  the  injuries  of 
the  weather,  this  trunk  had  been  covered  with  lead; 
but  at  the  time  of  the  fire  the  lead  was  stolen,  and, 
soon  after,  the  trunk  itself  decayed,  and  was  removed. 
The  tree  in  1819  was  in  a  very  flourishing  state. 
There  are  some  remains  of  the  old  trunk  to  be  seen 
a  few  inches  above  the  surface  of  the  ground.  The 
branches  then  growing  were  not  more  than  eight  or 
ten  years  old ;  but  those  in  the  middle  of  the  tree 
were  twenty-one  feet  high. 

It  is  probable  that  standard  fig-trees  were  formerly 
much  more  common  in  this  country  than  at  present. 
Bradley,  an  old  writer  on  agriculture,  mentions  an 
ancient  fig-tree  at  Windsor,  which  grew  in  a  gravel- 
pit,  and  bore  many  bushels  every  year,  without  any 
pains  being  bestowed  upon  it. 


248          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

In  the  fourth  volume  of  the  Horticultural  Trans- 
actions, there  is  a  very  interesting  account,  by  Mr. 
Sabine,  of  some  standard  fig-trees  in  the  garden  of 
a  cottage  at  Compton,  near  Worthing,  in  Sussex. 
The  garden  in  which  they  stand  slopes  gently  to  the 
south,  is  protected  on  the  north  by  a  thick  grove  of 
apple  and  plum  trees,  and  the  climate  is  very  mild. 
"  The  number  of  the  fig-trees,"  says  Mr.  Sabine, 
"is  fourteen;  they  occupy  the  principal  part  of  the 
garden,  which  is  very  small,  and  are  in  perfect  health ; 
their  average  height  is  about  ten  feet;  and,  if  any  of 
the  larger  ones  were  detached,  they  would  cover  a 
space  of  twelve  feet  in  diameter.  Their  stems  are  not 
large:  the  plants  are  bushes  rather  than  trees,  for  the 
branches  spread  in  all  directions  from  the  root.  These 
are  propped  up  by  stakes,  but  many  of  them  are 
suffered  to  hang  near  the  ground."  Mr.  Kennard, 
to  whom  they  belonged,  informed  Mr.  Sabine,  that 
though  the  quality  varied,  there  always  was  a  crop; 
that  the  figs  begin  to  ripen  in  the  end  of  August,  or 
beginning  of  September,  and  continued  during  Oc- 
tober; that  the  crop  was  generally  from  the  spring 
figs,  though  occasionally  a  few  of  the  autumn  ones 
ripened;  that  he  manured  the  ground  every  autumn; 
and  that  he  pruned  as  little  as  possible. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Worthing,  and  indeed 
along  nearly  all  the  south-east  coast  of  Sussex,  fig- 
trees  are  very  common  in  the  gardens.  At  Tarring 
(about  two  miles  from  Worthing)  there  is  a  remark- 
able plantation  of  figs,  called  by  the  inhabitants  of 
that  village,  "  The  Fig-garden."  The  trees,  which 
are  about  eighty  in  number,  grow  luxuriently  at  in- 
tervals of  about  twelve  feet,  on  the  sides  of  the 
paths.  They  are  about  fifteen  feet  high;  and  the 
stems  are  from  six  to  eleven  inches  in  diameter. 
We  saw  them  on  the  first  of  September,  1829,  bear- 
ing a  most  abundant  crop.  The  people  to  whom  the 


THE    FIG.  249 

garden  belonged  knew  nothing  of  the  history  of  these 
trees;  but  an  old  inhabitant  of  the  village  told  us  that 
he  thought  they  had  been  planted  about  forty  years. 

With  the  requisite  degree  of  care,  figs  may  be 
readily  obtained  in  this  country  in  a  hothouse;  but 
they  require  a  mode  of  cultivation  so  peculiar,  that  if 
it  is  wished  to  procure  them  in  perfection  they  ought 
to  be  cultivated  along  with  no  other  fruit,  and  then 
two  or  three  crops  may  be  gathered. 

Of  the  fig-tree,  botanists  now  describe  very  many 
species.  One  of  these,  the  banian  tree  (Ficus  Indica) 
deserves  notice,  not  as  a  fruit  tree,  but  from  its  being 
a  sacred  tree  with  the  Hindoos  in  the  East  Indies, 
from  the  vast  size  that  it  attains,  and  from  the  singu 
larity  of  its  growth.  The  fruit  does  not  exceed  that  of 
a  hazel  nut  in  bigness;  but  the  lateral  branches  send 
down  shoots  which  take  root,  till,  in  course  of  time,  a 
single  tree  extends  itself  to  a  considerable  grove.  This 
remarkable  tree  was  known  to  the  ancients.  Strabo 
mentions  that  after  the  branches  have  extended  about 
twelve  feet  horizontally,  they  shoot  down  in  the  di-r 
rection  of  the  earth,  and  there  root  themselves;  and 
when  they  have  attained  maturity,  they  propagate 
onward  in  the  same  manner,  till  the  whole  becomes 
like  a  tent  supported  by  many  columns.  This  tree 
is  also  noticed  by  Pliny  with  a  minute  accuracy, 
which  has  been  confirmed  by  the  observations  of 
modern  travellers;  and  Milton  has  rendered  the  de-r 
scription  of  the  ancient  naturalist  almost  literally  in 
the  following  beautiful  passage: — 

•"  Branching  so  broad  along,  that  in  the  ground 

The  bending  twigs  take  root  ;  and  daughters  grow 
About  the  mother  tree  ;  a  pillared  shade. 
High  over-arched,  with  echoing  walks  between. 
There  oft  the  Indian  herdsman,  shunning  heat, 
Shelters  in  cool  ;  and  tends  his  pasturing  herds 
At  loop-holes  cut  through  thickest  shade/' 

Some  specimens  of  the  Indian  fig-tree  are  mentioned 
n  4 


250  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

as  being  of  immense  magnitude.  One  near  Mangee, 
twenty  miles  to  the  westward  of  Patna,  in  Bengal, 
spread  over  a  diameter  of  370  feet.  The  entire  cir- 
cumference of  the  shadow  at  noon  was  1116  feet, 
and  it  required  920  feet  to  surround  the  fifty  or  sixty 
stems  by  which  the  tree  was  supported.  Another 
covered  an  area  of  1700  square  yards;  and  many  of 
almost  equal  dimensions  are  found  in  different  parts 
of  India  and  Cochin  China,  where  the  tree  grows  in 
the  greatest  perfection.  A  particular  account  of  the 
banian  tree  (sometimes  called  the  pagod  tree)  is  given 
in  Cordiner's  '  Ceylon.'  Mr.  Southey  has  also  de- 
scribed it  both  in  the  spirit  of  a  poet  and  a  naturalist. 
The  plate  on  page  25 1 ,  which  is  copied  from  Mr. 
Daniell's  splendid  work  on  l  Oriental  Scenery,'  well 
illustrates  this  description: 

"  'Twas  a  fair  scene  wherein  they  stood, 
A  green  and  sunny  glade  amid  the  wood, 
And  in  the  midst  an  aged  Banian  grew. 
It  was  a  goodly  sight  to  see 
That  venerable  tree, 
For  o'er  the  lawn,  irregularly  spread, 
Fifty  straight  columns  propt  its  lofty  head  ; 
And  many  a  long  depending  shoot 
Seeking  to  strike  its  root, 
Straight  like  a  plummet,  grew  towards  the  ground. 

Some  on  the  lower  boughs,  which  crost  their  way, 
Fixing  their  bearded  fibres,  round  and  round, 
With  many  a  ring  and  wild  contortion  wound  ; 
Some  to  the  passing  wind,  at  times,  with  sway 

Of  gentle  motion  swung  ; 

Others  of  younger  growth,  unmov'd  were  hung 
Like  stone-drops  from  the  cavern's  fretted  height. 

Beneath  was  smooth  and  fair  to  sight, 
Nor  weeds  nor  briers  deform 'd  the  natural  floor  ; 
And  through  the  leafy  cope  which  bowered  it  o'er 

Came  gleams  of  chequered  light. 
So  like  a  temple  did  it  seem,  that  there 
A  pious  heart's  first  impulse  would  he  prayer.*" 

*  Curse  of  Kehama. 


THE    BANIAN. 


251 


252  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


THE  VINE — Vitis  vintfera. 

Of  all  the  berries,  the  grape  has  in  every  age  been 
held  the  most  in  esteem.  As  is  the  case  with  the  cere- 
alia,  the  early  history  of  the  vine  is  involved  in  obscu- 
rity. The  cultivation  of  the  grape  was,  probably, 
amongst  the  earliest  efforts  of  husbandry.  "  And 
Noah  began  to  be  an  husbandman,  and  he  planted 
a  vineyard."*  According  to  the  tradition  of  the 
Egyptians,  Osiris  first  paid  attention  to  the  vine, 
and  instructed  other  men  in  the  manner  of  plant- 
ing and  using  it.  The  inhabitants  of  Africa  ascribe 
the  same  gift  to  the  ancient  Bacchus.  We  find 
mention  of  the  fermented  juice  of  the  grape  as 
early  as  that  of  its  cultivation.  Wine  was  among 
the  first  oblations  to  the  Divinity.  "  Melchizedek, 
King  of  Salem,  brought  forth  bread  and  wine,  and 
he  was  the  priest  of  the  Most  High  God."j~"  We 
may  trace  through  all  the  most  ancient  records  of  the 
human  race,  a  conformity  between  the  chief  articles 
of  subsistence,  and  the  sacrifices  to  heaven. 

"  The  vine,"  says  Humboldt,  "  which  we  now  cul- 

*  Genesis,  ix.  20.  t  Genesis,  xiv.  18. 


THE    VINE.  253 

tivate,  does  not  belong  to  Europe;  it  grows  wild  on 
the  coasts  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  in  Armenia,  and  in 
Caramania.  From  Asia  it  passed  into  Greece,  and 
thence  into  Sicily.  The  Phocaeans  carried  it  into  the 
south  of  France ;  the  Romans  planted  it  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rhine.  The  species  ofvites,  which  are  found 
wild  in  North  America,  and  which  gave  the  name  of 
the  land  of  the  vine  (  Winenland)  to  the  first  part  of 
the  New  Continent  which  was  discovered  by  Euro- 
peans, are  very  different  from  our  vitis  vinifera."*  It 
is  a  popular  error  that  the  grape  vine  was  common  to 
both  continents. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  vine  was  introduced  into 
England  by  the  Romans;  but  if  so,  it  could  not 
have  been  till  near  the  close  of  their  influence,  for 
Tacitus  mentions  that  it  was  not  known  when  Agri- 
cola  commanded  in  the  island.  At  the  invasion  of 
the  Anglo-Saxons,  however,  when  the  country  had 
been  under  the  Roman  dominion  four  hundred  years, 
and  had  received,  during  that  long  period,  all  the  en- 
couragement which  that  people  gave  to  the  agricul- 
ture of  their  provinces,  the  vine,  without  doubt,  was 
extensively  cultivated.  Vineyards  are  mentioned  in 
the  earliest  Saxon  charters,  as  well  as  gardens  and 
orchards,  "and  this  was  before  the  combating  in- 
vaders had  time  or  ability  to  make  them,  if  they  had 
not  found  them  in  the  island,  ""j"  In  the  Cottonian  Ma- 
nuscripts, in  the  British  Museum,  there  are  some  rude 
delineations  in  a  Saxon  calender,  which,  in  the  month 
of  February,  represent  men  cutting  or  pruning  trees, 
some  of  which  resemble  vines.  King  Edgar,  in  an  old 
grant,  gives  the  vineyard,  situate  at  Wecet,  together 
with  the  vine-dressers.  In  '  Domesday  Book,'  vine- 
yards are  noticed  in  several  counties.  According  to 

*  Geographic  des  Plantes,  4to.,  p.  26. 
t  Turner's  Anglo-Saxons,  Appendix  to  vol.  ii.  8vo. 

vol..    n.  4* 


254          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

William  of  Malmesbury,  who  flourished  in  the  first  half 
of  the  twelfth  century,  the  culture  of  the  vine  had  in 
his  time  arrived  at  such  perfection  within  the  vale  of 
Gloucester,  that  a  sweet  and  palatable  wine,  "  little 
inferior  to  that  of  France,"  was  made  there  in  abun- 
dance. In  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries, 
almost  every  large  castle  and  monastery  in  England 
had  its  vineyard.  The  land  on  the  south  side  of 
Windsor  Castle,  now  a  pleasant  green  lawn,  running 
from  the  town  under  the  castle- wall,  was  a  vineyard, 
of  which  a  particular  account  may  be  seen  hi  the 
'  Archaeologia.'  At  this  period,  wine  was  made  in 
England  in  considerable  quantities  ;  and  yet  the 
importation  of  foreign  wines  was  very  large.  In  the 
year  1272,  London  imported  3799  tuns;  Southamp- 
ton and  Portsmouth,  3147;  and  Sandwich,  1900.* 
In  the  time  of  Edward  III.,  a  trade  in  Rhenish  wine 
was  carried  on  between  Hull  and  the  ports  of  the 
Baltic. "I"  The  vineyards  were,  probably,  continued  till 
the  time  of  the  Reformatian,  when  the  ecclesiastical 
gardens  were  either  neglected  or  destroyed  ;  and 
about  this  period,  ale,  which  had  been  known  in 
England  for  many  centuries,  seems  to  have  super- 
seded the  use  of  wine  as  a  general  beverage.  This 
arose  from  the  better  cultivation  of  the  country. 
Under  the  feudal  tenures,  when  the  serfs  were  often 
suddenly  compelled  to  follow  their  lords  to  battle, 
husbandry,  particularly  the  growth  of  grain,  was 
fearfully  neglected;  and  sometimes  the  most  dreadful 
famines  were  the  result.  The  prices  of  wheat  occa- 
sionally fluctuated  from  ten  shillings  to  twenty  pounds 
per  quarter  of  modern  money.  J  But  when  just  princi- 
ples of  tenancy  were  established,  so  that  the  occupier 
of  the  land  could  be  sure  of  appropriating  to  himself  a 

*  Anderson's  History  of  Commerce. 

t  Rymer's  Fcedera. 
$  In  1270,  wheat  was  £19  4s-  per  quarter;  in  1316,  it  was  2s. 


THE    VINE.  255 

lair  proportion  of  the  fruit  of  his  labour,  agriculture 
began  to  flourish.  The  cultivation  of  hops  was  revived 
or  introduced  about  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century. 
All  these  circumstances — the  decay  of  the  vineyards, 
the  encouragement  to  the  growth  of  grain,  and  the 
culture  of  hops — gradually  tended  to  supersede  the 
demand  for  wine,  by  offering  a  beverage  to  the  people 
which  was  cheaper,  and  perhaps  as  exhilarating.  Rit- 
son  a  celebrated  antiquary  has  preserved  a  rude 
ballad  of  this  period  in  praise  of  that  beverage  which 
was  becoming  the  national  favourite  : — 

"  Bryng  us  home  no  sydyr,  nor  no  palde  wyne; 
For  an  that  thou  do  shall  have  Cryst's  curse  and  mine: 
But  bryng  us  home  good  ale,  and  bryng  us  home  good  ale, 
And  for  our  der  lady's  love  bryng  us  home  good  ale." 

We  understand  that  on  the  southern  coast  of  De- 
vonshire, possessing  the  mildest  temperature  of  the 
English  counties,  there  are  still  two  or  three  vine- 
yards, from  which  wine  is  commonly  made.  A  vine- 
yard at  the  castle  of  Arundel,  on  the  south  coast  of 
Sussex,  was  planted  about  the  early  part  of  the  last 
century,  and  of  the  produce  there  are  reported  to 
have  been  sixty  pipes  of  wine  in  the  cellars  of  the 
Duke  of  Norfolk,  in  1 763.  This  wine  is  said  to  have 
resembled  Burgundy ;  but  the  kind  of  grape  and  the 
mode  of  culture  have  not  been  particularly  recorded. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  condition  and  qualities 
of  the  early  English  grapes  employed  in  making 
wine,  we  know  that  they  must  have  been  ripened  by 
the  natural  temperature  of  the  climate,  as  artificial 
heat  was  not  resorted  to  for  the  ripening  of  grapes 
till  the  early  part  of  the  last  century;  and  then  the 
heat  was  applied  merely  to  the  other  side  of  the  wall 
on  which  the  vines  were  trained:  nor  is  it  till  about 
the  middle  of  the  same  century  that  we  have  any 
account  of  vines  being  covered  with  glass.  Professor 


256  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

Martyn  is  an  advocate  for  the  renewal  of  grape  cul- 
ture in  this  country  for  wine.  For  that  purpose  he 
recommends  that  the  vines  should  be  trained  very 
near  the  ground,  he  having  found  that,  by  this  method 
of  training,  the  berries  were  much  increased  in  size, 
and  also  ripened  earlier.  The  same  method  is  pur- 
sued in  the  northern  part  of  France,  where  it  is  found 
to  be  successful. 

The  culture  of  the  grape,  as  an  article  of  husbandry, 
extends  over  a  zone  about  two  thousand  miles  in 
breadth,  that  is,  from  about  the  twenty-first  to  the 
fiftieth  degree  of  north  latitude ;  and  reaching  in 
length  from  the  western  shores  of  Portugal,  at  least 
to  the  centre  of  Persia,  and  probably  to  near  the 
sources  of  the  Oxus  and  the  Indus.  Farther  north 
than  that,  it  does  not  ripen  so  as  to  be  fit  for  the 
making  of  wine;  and  farther  south,  it  seems  to  be 
as  much  injured  by  the  excessive  heat.  The  best 
wines  are  made  about  the  centre  of  the  zone;  the 
wines  towards  the  north  being  harsh  and  austere, 
and  the  grapes  towards  the  south  being  better  adapted 
for  drying  and  preserving  as  raisins.  Thus,  in 
Spain,  while  the  wine  of  Xeres,  in  the  Sierra  Morena 
(the  real  Sherry),  is  an  excellent  wine,  and  while 
that  of  the  ridge  of  Apulaxarras,  in  Granada,  is  very 
tolerable,  the  grapes  of  the  warm  shores  about  Ma- 
laga, and  in  Valentia,  are  chiefly  fit  only  for  raisins. 
So,  also,  while  the  slopes  of  Etna,  and  those  of  the 
mountains  in  Greece,  furnish  some  choice  vines,  the 
grapes  upon  the  low  shores  in  those  countries  have 
also  to  be  dried.  It  should  seem,  that  the  grapes  are 
always  the  higher  flavoured  and  the  more  vinous,  the 
greater  the  natural  temperature  under  which  they 
are  ripened,  but  that  an  extreme  heat  throws  the 
juice  into  the  acetous  fermentation  before  the  vinous 
one  has  time  to  be  matured.  We  have  an  analogous 
case  in  the  fermentation  of  malt  liquors  in  this  coun- 


THE    VINE.         .  257 

try,  which  cannot  be  properly  performed  in  the  warm 
months. 

About  eight  thousand  tons  of  raisins,  or  dried 
grapes,  are  annually  imported  into  England,  at  a 
duty  of  about  £160,000.  A  considerable  quantity 
of  undried  grapes  are  also  imported,  principally  from 
Portugal,  in  jars,  among  saw-dust.  The  value  of 
those  so  imported  is  about  £10,000.  The  currants 
of  commerce,  which  are  so  extensively  used  in  Eng- 
land, and  of  which  about  six  thousand  tons  are  an- 
nually imported  into  this  country,  are  small  dried 
grapes,  principally  grown  in  the  Ionian  islands. 

Laborde,  in  his  account  of  Spain,  gives  the  fol- 
lowing description  of  the  mode  of  drying  raisins: — 
"  In  the  kingdom  of  Valencia  they  make  a  kind  of 
ley  with  ,,the  ashes  of  rosemary  and  vine  branches, 
to  which  they  add  a  quart  of  slacked  lime.  This  ley  is 
heated,  and  a  vessel,  full  of  holes,  containing  the 
grapes,  is  put  into  it.  When  the  bunches  are  in  the 
state  desired,  they  are  generally  carried  to  naked 
rocks,  where  they  are  spread  on  beds  of  the  field 
artemisia,  and  are  turned  every  two  or  three  days  till 
they  are  dry.  In  the  kingdom  of  Granada,  particu- 
larly towards  Malaga,  they  are  simply  dried  in  the 
sun,  without  any  other  preparation.  The  former 
have  a  more  pleasing  rind,  but  a  less  mellow  sub- 
stance ;  the  skins  of  the  latter  are  not  so  sugary,  but 
their  substance  has  a  much  greater  relish;  therefore, 
the  raisins  of  Malaga  are  preferred  by  foreigners, 
and  are  sold  at  a  higher  price  :  to  this  their  quality 
may  likewise  contribute  ;  they  are  naturally  larger, 
and  more  delicate,  than  those  of  the  kingdom  of 
Valencia." 

A  vineyard,  associated  as  it  is  with  all  our  ideas  of 
beauty  and  plenty,  is,  in  general,  a  disappointing 
object.  The  hop  plantations  of  our  own  country 
are  far  more  picturesque.  In  France,  the  vines  are 


258  VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

trained  upon  poles,  seldom  more  than  three  or  four 
feet  in  height ;  and  "  the  pole-clipt  vineyard"  of 
poetry  is  not  the  most  inviting  of  real  objects.  In 
Spain,  poles  for  supporting  vines  are  not  used  ;  but 
cuttings  are  planted,  which  are  not  permitted  to  grow 
very  high,  but  gradually  form  thick  and  stout  stocks. 
In  Switzerland,  and  in  the  German  provinces,  the 
vineyards  are  as  formal  as  those  of  France.  But  in 
Italy  is  found  the  true  vine  of  poetry,  "  surrounding 
the  stone  cottage  with  its  girdle,  flinging  its  pliant 
and  luxuriant  branches  over  the  rustic  viranda,  or 
twining  its  long  garland  from  tree  to  tree.*"  It 
was  the  luxuriance  and  the  beauty  of  her  vines  and 
her  olives  that  tempted  the  rude  people  of  the  North 
to  pour  down  upon  her  fertile  fields: — 

"  The  prostrate  South  to  the  destroyer  yields 
Her  boasted  titles  and  her  golden  fields; 
With  grim  delight  the  brood  of  winter  view 
A  brighter  day,  and  heavens  of  azure  hue, 
Scent  the  new  fragrance  of  the  breathing  rose, 
And  quaff  the  pendent  vintage  as  it  grows  T" 

In  Greece,  too,  as  well  as  Italy,  the  shoots  of  the 
vines  are  either  trained  upon  trees,  or  supported,  so 
as  to  display  aH  their  luxuriance,  upon  a  series  of 
props.  This  was  the  custom  of  the  ancient  vine- 
growers;  and  their  descendants  have  preserved  it  in 
all  its  picturesque  originality. J  The  vine-dressers 
of  Persia  train  their  vines  to  run  up  a  wall,  and  curl 
over  on  the  top.  But  the  most  luxurious  cultivation 
of  the  vine  in  hot  countries  is  where  it  covers  the 
trellis-work  which  surrounds  a  well,  inviting  the 
owner  and  his  family  to  gather  beneath  its  shade. 
"  The  fruitful  bough  by  a  well"  is  of  the  highest 
antiquity. 

*Tbe  Alpenstock,  by  C.  J.  Latrobe,  1829. 
t  Gray's  Alliance  of  Education  and  Government. 
£  See  the  second  Georgic  of  Virgil. 


THE   VINE.  259 

The  vine  lasts  to  a  considerable  age  ;  it  spreads 
also  to  a  large  extent,  or,  when  supported,  rises  to  a 
great  height.  Although  it  bears  at  three  or  four 
years  plentifully,  it  is  said  that  vineyards  improve  in 
quality  till  they  are  fifty  years  old.*  Pliny  mentions 
a  vine  which  had  attained  the  age  of  six  hundred 
years.  In  France  and  Italy  there  are  entire  vine- 
yards still  in  existence,  and  in  full  bearing,  which 
were  in  the  same  condition  at  least  three  centuries 
ago,  and  have  so  continued  ever  since.  The  slender 
stems  of  ordinary  vines,  when  they  have  attained  a 
considerable  age,  are  remarkably  tough  and  compact; 
and  the  timber  of  the  very  old  ones  in  foreign  coun- 
tries, which  is  occasionally  of  size  enough  for  being 
sawn  into  planks,  and  being  made  into  furniture  and 
utensils,  is  almost  indestructible.  Strabo  mentions 
an  old  vine  which  two  men  could  not  embrace.  A 
single  vine  plant,  which  was  trained  against  a  row  of 
houses  at  Northallerton,  covered,  in  1785,  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-seven  square  yards.  It  was  then 
about  a  hundred  years  old,  and  it  increased  in  size 
afterwards  ;  but  it  is  now  dead.  In  1785,  the  prin- 
cipal stem  of  this  vine  was  about  fifteen  inches  in 
diameter. 

Of  the  variety  of  the  vine  called  the  black  Ham- 
burgh there  are  several  remarkable  trees  in  England, 
covering  a  great  extent  of  surface,  and  bearing  (under 
glass)  a  profusion  of  the  finest  fruit.  Of  these,  among 
the  most  celebrated  are  the  Hampton  Court  vine,  and 
the  vine  at  Valentines,  in  Essex.  The  Hampton 
Court  vine  is  in  a  grape-house  on  the  north  side  of 
the  palace:  it  covers  a  surface  of  twenty-two  feet  by 
seventy-two,  or  1694  square  feet.  It  is  a  most  pro- 
ductive bearer,  having  seldom  fewer  than'  two  thou- 
sand clusters  upon  it  every  season.  In  the  year  1816, 
there  were  at  least  2240,  weighing  each,  on  the 

*  Miller. 


260  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

average,  a  pound  ;  so  that  the  whole  crop  weighed  a 
ton,  and,  merely  as  an  article  of  commerce,  was 
worth  upwards  of  £400.  The  Valentines  vine  ex- 
tends over  a  greater  surface,  and  has  a  larger  trunk, 
than  that  at  Hampton  Court;  but  it  is  not,  on  the 
average  of  seasons  so  productive.  It  has,  however, 
been  known  to  produce  two  thousand  bunches  of  a 
pound  each. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Pulpy  Fruits,  borne  by  Shrubs  and  Trees,  continued.— Mulberry  ;  Cur- 
rant; Gooseberry;  Raspberry  ;  Strawberry  ;  Barberry  ;  Elder;  Bram- 
ble ;  Cloud-Berry  ;  Bilberry  ;  Gualtheria  Shallon. 


a.  Currant.     6.  Gooseberry,     c.  Raspberry,     d.  Strawberry. 
e.  Mulberry. 

THE  MULBERRY — Morus  nigra. 

THE  mulberry  tree  appears  to  have  formed  an  ob- 
ject of  cultivation  at  a  very  early  period  in  the  western 
parts  of  Asia,  and  in  Europe.  The  attention  there 
bestowed  upon  it  must  have  been  solely  on  account 
of  its  fruit ;  for  the  knowledge  of  the  mode  of  rearing 
silk-worms  was  confined  to  the  people  of  central  and 
southern  Asia  till  the  sixth  century.  We  read  in 
the  Psalms  that  the  Almighty  wrath  destroyed  the 

VOL.    II.  5 


262  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

"mulberry-trees  with  frost;"  and  this  must  have 
been  recorded  as  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  divine 
displeasure,  for  the  mulberry  is  universally  known 
not  to  put  forth  its  buds  and  leaves  till  the  season  is 
so  far  advanced  that,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events, 
there  is  no  inclement  weather  to  be  apprehended. 
It  has  therefore  been  called  the  wisest  of  trees;  and 
in  heraldry  it  is  adopted  as  "an  hieroglyphic  of 
wisdom,  whose  property  is  to  speak  and  to  do  all 
things  in  opportune  season."*  In  the  history  of  the 
wars  of  David  with  the  Philistines,  the  mulberry- 
.tree  is  mentioned  as  a  familiar  object.  Pliny  says  of 
it,  somewhat  questionably,  that  "  when  it  begins  to 
bud,  it  despatches  the  business  in  one  night,  and  that 
with  so  much  force,  that  their  breaking  forth  may  be 
distinctly  heard."  Thunberg,  an  oriental  traveller, 
tells  us,  which  is  still  more  extraordinary,  that  the 
sheath  which  encloses  the  flower  of  the  talipot  palm 
bursts  with  an  explosion  like  the  report  of  a  cannon. 

In  this  country,  there  are  many  old  mulberry-trees, 
of  large  dimensions,  and  remarkable  also  for  the 
quantity  of  fruit  they  bear.  It  is  probable  that  some 
of  these  old  trees  were  planted  at  the  latter  end  of 
the  sixteenth  and  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth 
centuries;  for  James  I.  endeavoured  to  render  the 
cultivation  of  the  tree  general,  in  the  same  way  that 
Henry  IV.  had  laboured  to  introduce  it  in  France. 
The  first  mulberry-trees  of  England  are  said  to  have 
been  planted  at  Sion  House,  the  seat  of  the  Duke  ot 
Northumberland,  hi  1548;  and  the  trees,  though 
decayed  in  the  trunk,  still  bear  fruit.  Mulberry 
gardens  were  common  in  the  seventeenth  century, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  London;  but  either  from 
the  climate,  or  the  prejudices  of  the  people,  the 
growth  of  silk  never  prospered.  The  mulberry  is 
distinguished  for  the  facility  with  which  it  may  be 

*  GuiJlam's  Display  of  Heraldry. 


THE    MULBERRY.  263 

propagated.  A  cutting  from  a  tree  which  has  borne 
fruit  will  soon  become  a  vigorous  plant.  It  is  re- 
corded that,  at  Bruce  Castle,  at  Tottenham,  an  im 
mense  branch  being  torn  off  by  the  wind  from  an 
old  mulberry-tree,  about  forty  years  ago,  the  branch 
was  thrust  into  the  ground,  and  flourished.  It  is 
now  a  handsome  tree.  That  part  of  the  trunk  of  the 
old  tree  which  lost  the  branch  is  covered  with  lead. 
But  at  the  same  time  the  mulberry  has  been  also  re- 
markable for  not  producing  fruit  till  the  trees  have 
acquired  a  considerable  age;  and  this  circumstance 
has  materially  affected  its  cultivation  as  a  fruit  tree. 
The  same  objection  has  applied  to  the  walnut. 
Recent  experiments,  however,  have  shewn  that,  by 
proper  culture,  both  the  mulberry  and  the  walnut 
may  be  made  to  produce  fruit  at  three  years  old. 

A  particular  description  of  the  mulberry  as  a  tim- 
ber tree  has  been  already  given,*  and  its  important 
services  to  the  arts  in  the  rearing  of  silk-worms  has 
also  been  noticed.  The  sort  principally  cultivated 
for  fruit  is  the  black  mulberry  (Morus  nigra],  al- 
though the  fruit  of  the  white,  Tartarian,  red,  and 
Pensylvanian  species  (of  the  white  particularly)  "  are 
of  sufficient  consequence  to  merit  a  place  in  a  list  of 
edible  fruits. "f  The  black  mulberry  is  a  hardy  tree; 
and,  as  the  berries  are  abundant,  and  of  very  whole- 
some quality,  while  the  wood  makes  excellent  timber, 
and  the  leaves  are  adapted  for  the  feeding  of -silk- 
worms as  well  as  those  of  the  white  mulberry,  it  de- 
serves more  attention  than  it  generally  receives. 

The  mulberry  is  the  latest  tree  to  put  forth  its 
leaves;  and  it  drops  every  leaf  on  the  first  night  of 
severe  frost.  Some  trials  have  been  made  of  mul- 
berries [trained  against  a  south  wall,  and  the  result 
has  been  a  great  improvement  in  the  fruit. 

*  Timber  Trees,  p.  141. 
t  Horticultural  Society's  Fruit  Catalogue. 


264  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

THE  CURRANT  AND  GOOSEBERRY — Ribes. 

The  currant  was  formerly  erroneously  held  to 
be  the  Corinthian  grape  degenerated.  It  is  now 
considered  as  a  native  of  this  country,  the  red 
(Ribes  rubrwn)  being  found  growing  naturally 
in  many  places  both  of  England  and  Scotland,  and 
the  white  being  merely  a  variety  of  the  red.  Mr. 
Aiton,  in  his  Hortes  Kewensis,  is  of  opinion  that  it 
is  a  native  production.  Its  name,  however,  being 
the  same  as  the  small  seedless  grape  of  the  Levant 
(Corinth),  is  against  this  theory;  and  in  '  Dodoen's 
History  of  Plants,'  translated  in  1578,  it  is  called 
"  the  red  beyond-sea  gooseberry."  The  white, 
having  the  most  delicate  flavour,  is  most  in  request 
for  the  dessert.  The  red  is  principally  used  in  the 
preparation  of  jellies;  and  the  white  is  converted 
into  wine,  which,  with  fine  fruit,  and  using  the  juice 
alone,  or  only  with  sugar,  without  any  mixture  of 
spirits  or  of  water,  may,  when  kept  to  a  proper  age, 
be  made  to  equal  some  of  the  inferior  wines  from  the 
grape.  For  pastry,  the  currant  is  amongst  the  most 
valuable  of  the  British  fruits,  being  easily  preserved, 
and  growing  in  sufficient  abundance,  on  account  of 
its  hardiness,  to  offer  a  cheap  luxury  to  the  humblest 
classes.  This  bush  forms  the  principal  ornament  of 
some  of  those  neat  cottages  which  are  or  were  the 
peculiar  characteristic  of  England;  and  which  it 
would  be  wise,  as  well  as  benevolent,  in  the  landlords 
to  multiply,  if  they  could  steadily  keep  out  of  them 
all  who  were  unable  to  maintain  themselves.  In 
parts  of  the  country  where  it  is  the  custom  to  train 
the  currant  against  the  walls  of  the  house,  its  rich 
dark  leaves,  and  its  brilliant  fruit,  growing  over  the 
latticed  window,  offer  almost  as  pleasing  a  picture  as 
the  vines  of  Italy. 

The  Black  Currant  (Ribes  nigruin)  is  supposed  to 


THE  CURRANT  AND  GOOSEBERRY.      265 

be  a  native  of  Britain;  or,  at  all  events,  the  period 
of  its  introduction  is  unknown.  The  berries  are 
larger  than  those  of  the  red  or  the  white,  but  they 
are  not  so  juicy;  and  the  crop  upon  a  single  bush  is 
less  abundant.  Their  taste  is  peculiar,  and  to  some 
disagreeable;  they  are  supposed  to  have  medicinal 
qualities  which  do  not  belong  to  the  other  species  of 
currants.  They  answer  well  for  tarts  and  puddings; 
they  can  be  made  into  a  very  pleasant  jelly,  which, 
in  village  pharmacy,  is  recommended  in  cases  of  sore 
throat;  and  they  make  a  very  good  rob  (souring)  for 
flavouring  liquors.  The  leaves  of  the  black  currant 
have  a  strong  taste,  especially  in  the  early  part  of  the 
season;  and  if  a  small  portion  be  mixed  with  black 
tea,  the  flavour  is  changed  to  one  resembling  that  of 
green.  On  this  account,  it  is  suspected  that  those 
leaves  are  pretty  extensively  used  in  the  adulteration 
of  tea, — the  coarser  sort  of  black  being  coloured 
green  by  moistening  it  with  vinegar,  laying  it  upon 
heated  plates  of  copper  till  it  be  shrivelled  into  small 
balls,  and  mixing  it  with  black  currant  leaves,  which 
have  also  been  shrivelled  by  heat.  If  this  process 
has  been  employed  the  tea  will  discolour  a  silver 
spoon. 

There  are  thirty-five  varieties  of  the  currant  speci- 
fied in  the  fruit  catalogue  of  the' Horticultural  So- 
ciety ;  but  there  is  perhaps  no  class  of  fruits  in  which 
so  much  ignorance  exists  as  to  the  merits  and  dif- 
ference of  the  varieties.  It  is  stated  to  be  impossible 
to  obtain  the  different  kinds  with  certainty  from  the 
nurseries. 

The  Gooseberry  (Ribes  grossularia} ,  if  not  a  native 
of  Britain,  is  yet  a  fruit  much  better  adapted  to 
cold  than  to  warm  climates.  It  was  cultivated  here 
in  the  time  of  Tusser,  a  writer  on  husbandry, 

VOL.  u.  5* 


266          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

who  flourished  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII.     He 
says, 

"  The  barberry,  respis,*  and  gooseberry  too, 
Look  now  to  be  planted  as  other  things  do." 

In  the  south  of  Europe,  it  is  small,  tasteless,  and 
neglected;  and  though  it  grows  to  a  large  size  hi  the 
warmer  parts  of  England,  its  flavour  there  is  very  in- 
ferior, to  that  which  it  has  in  Scotland.  Even  in  that 
country,  the  flavour  seems  to  increase  with  the  cold; 
for  if  there  be  warmth  enough  for  bringing  gooseber- 
ries to  maturity  and  ripening  them,  the  farther  north 
they  are  grown  the  better.  The  market-gardeners 
about  Edinburgh  pay  much  attention  to  the  culture 
and  kinds  of  their  gooseberries;  but  they  are  never 
equal  in  flavour  to  those  which  are  grown  at  Dun- 
dee, Aberdeen,  or  Inverness. 

In  England,  the  Lancashire  gooseberries  are  the 
finest  in  appearance.  They  are  very  large  ;  but 
their  flavour  is  far  inferior  to  that  of  the  Scotch. 
Perhaps  the  inferiority  of  the  English  berries  may 
be  in  great  part  owing  to  the  large  sorts  that  are 
cultivated, — the  finest,  even  in  Scotland,  being  those 
that  are  of  a  middle  size. 

Gooseberries  are  of  various  colours, — white,  yel- 
low, green,  and  red;  and  of  each  colour  there  are 
many  sorts.  If,  however,  any  particular  sort  be 
wished  to  be  preserved,  it  must  be  done  by  cuttings, 
because  the  seeds  of  any  one  sort  are  apt  to  produce 
not  only  all  the  known  sorts,  but  new  ones.  In 
almost  all  fruit  trees,  indeed,  that  run  into  sorts,  the 
only  way  of  securing  a  favourite  sort  is  by  budding, 
grafting,  or  planting  cuttings.  The  bud  or  the 
branch  does  not  change,  but  the  seed  does;  and 
most  of  the  varieties  of  apples  called  pippins  have 
been  obtained  by  sowing  the  seeds  or  pips  of  other 

*  Raspberry. 


THE    CURRANT    AND    GOOSEBERRY.  267 

sorts.  It  is  generally  supposed  that  this  is  effected 
by  variation  of  soil  and  climate;  and  as  it  is  well 
known  that  every  cultivated  vegetable  degenerates 
when  repeatedly  sown  in  the  same  soil,  it  is  by  no 
means  improbable  that  the  quality  of  fruit  trees  might 
be  very  much  improved  by  raising  them  from  the 
seed,  in  situations  as  different  as  possible  from  those 
in  which  the  seed  is  produced. 

The  gooseberry  plant,  under  favourable  circum- 
stances, will  attain  a  considerable  age,  and  grow 
to  a  great  size.  At  Duffield,  near  Derby,  there 
was.  in  1821,  a  bush  ascertained  to  have  been 
planted  at  least  forty-six  years,  the  branches  of 
which  extended  twelve  yards  in  circumference.  At 
the  garden  of  the  late  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  at  Overton 
Hall,  near  Chesterfield,  there  were,  at  the  same  time, 
two  remarkable  gooseberry  plants,  trained  against  a 
wall,  measuring  each  upwards  of  fifty  feet  from  one 
extremity  to  the  other.* 

The  yellow  gooseberries  have,  in  general,  a  more 
rich  and  vinous  flavour  than  the  white:  they  are,  on 
that  account,  the  best  for  the  dessert,  and  also  for 
being  fermented  into  wine.  When  the  sort  is  choice, 
and  well  picked,  so  that  none  of  the  fruit  is  damaged, 
or  over  or  under  ripe,  and  when  the  wine  is  properly 
made,  it  olten  puzzles  an  unpractised  taste  to  distin- 
guish the  wine  of  the  best  yellow  gooseberries  from 
champaign.  It  has  the  flavour  and  colour,  and  it 
mantles  like  the  best  of  the  foreign  wine. 

Generally  speaking,  the  green  gooseberries  are  in- 
ferior to  the  yellow,  and  even  to  the  white:  many  of 
them,  however,  run  large,  and  are  used  for  the  sake 
of  appearance.  Large  gooseberries  in  general,  and 
large  green  ones  in  particular,  are  thick  in  the  husk, 
and  contain  less  pulp  than  those  of  a  smaller  size ; 
while  the  flavour  is  in  general  rich  in  proportion  to 

*  Hort.  Trans,  vol.  v. 


268  VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

the  thinness  of  the  husk.  Some  of  the  larger  greens, 
especially  those  that  are  smooth,  gourd-shaped,  and 
of  a  brownish  tinge,  are  almost  tasteless,  or  even  dis- 
agreeable. 

The   red  gooseberries  are  very  various  in  flavour, 
but  are   commonly  more   acid  than  the  others.     The 
same  may  be  said  of  most  other  fruits;  and  it  agrees 
with  the  well-known  fact  that  acids  change  the  vege- 
table blues  to  red.     In  many  fruits,  and  the  goose 
berry  in  particular,  the  amber  colour  is  accompanied 
by  the  richest  vinous  flavour,  while  the  white  tends 
to  insipidity.     When  the   green  is  deep  and  pure, 
sweetness  seems  to  be  the  leading  characteristic,  as 
in  the  Gascoigne  gooseberry,  the  green-gage  plum, 
and  the  small  green  summer  pear,  known  in  Scotland 
by  the  name  of  the  "  Pinkey  green."     Among  the 
red  gooseberries  there  are,  however,  many  exceptions. 
Some  of  the  older  and  smaller  red  sorts  (especially  that 
known  by  the  name  of  the  "  old  ironmonger")  are 
very  sweet.     It  would  be  unavailing  to  fix  upon  any 
particular  kind  of  gooseberry  as  the   best,  as  every 
year  produces  new  varieties.     In  the  fruit  catalogue 
of  the  Horticultural  Society  there  are  nearly  two  hun- 
dred kinds  enumerated,  of  which   about   a  hundred 
and  fifty  are  the  large  Lancashire  gooseberries. 
.  The  cultivation  of  gooseberries  forms  a  pleasing  oc- 
cupation amongst  the  manufacturers  of  that  part  of  the 
kingdom;  and  the  custom  has  doubtless  a  tendency 
to  improve  both  the  health  and  the  morals  of  the 
people.     Any  pursuit  which  makes  men  acquainted 
with  the  peculiarities  of  vegetable  economy,  in  how- 
ever small  a  degree,  has  a  beneficial  effect  upon  the 
heart  and  understanding :  and  it  is  certainly  better  for 
weavers  and  nailers  to  vie  with  each  other  in  raising 
the    largest   gooseberries,  than   in    those   games   of 
chance  or  cruel  sports,  to  which  the  few  leisure  hours 
of  the  working   classes  are  too  often  devoted.     The 
one  is  a  rational  and  innocent  emulation  ;  the  other, 


THE    RASPBERRY.  269 

a  degrading  excitement,  or  a  brutal  indulgence. 
The  names  of  the  Lancashire  gooseberries  are  indica- 
tive of  their  humble  origin, — "  Jolly  Miner,"  "  Jolly 
Painter,"  "  Lancashire  Lad,"  "  Pastime,"  "  Top 
Sawyer,"  and  so  forth,  may  appear  odd  to  a  foreigner; 
but  they  are  characteristic  of  the  manners  of  the 
country  in  which  they  are  produced,  as  the  high- 
sounding  titles  which  distinguish  the  fruits  of  other 
nations  are  indicative  of  theirs. 

The  gooseberry  shows  of  Lancashire,  Cheshire, 
Staffordshire,  Warwickshire,  and  other  manufacturing 
counties,  are  conducted  with  great  system;  and  an 
annual  account  of  them,  forming  a  little  volume,  is 
printed  and  published  at  Manchester.  The  heaviest 
gooseberry  which  appears  to  have  received  a  prize, 
was  exhibited  at  the  Shakspeare  Tavern,  Nantwich, 
in  18C25:  it  weighed  31  dwts.  16  grains.  The  prizes 
given  on  these  occasions  are  adapted  to  the  manners 
of  the  homely  people  who  contend  for  them,  being 
generally  either  a  pair  of  sugar-tongs,  a  copper  tea- 
kettle (the  favourite  prize),  a  cream-jug,  or  a  corner 
cupboard.  The  proceedings  of  these  contests,  and 
the  arrangements  for  future  years,  are  registered  with 
as  much  precision  as  the  records  of  horse-racing; 
and,  doubtless,  the  triumphs  which  are  thus  handed 
down  to  the  collier's  or  the  weaver's  children,  by  the 
additions  which  the  goodman  makes  to  his  household 
ornaments,  are  as  deeply  valued  as  the  "  gold  cups" 
of  Newmarket. 

THE  RASPBERRY — Rubus  idccus. 

This  plant  obtains  its  common  name  from  the  rough 
and  bristly  appearance  of  the  fruit.  The  French  call 
the  raspberry  "  Ronce  du  Mont  Ida,"  (in  common 
parlance,  "  Framboise,")  considering  it  a  native  of 
that  classic  ground,  for  which  they  have  the  autho- 
rity of  Pliny.  The  root  is  perennial  and  spread- 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

ing,  but  the  stems  last  only  two  years.  Both  the 
red  and  the  white  varieties  are  natives  of  Britain, 
and  prefer  situations  that  are  shaded  and  rather  moist 
The  uses  of  the  raspberry,  both  for  the  table  and  for 
sweetmeats,  are  well  known.  Though  the  flavour  of 
raspberries  is  peculiar,  it  is  one  which  is  very  gene- 
rally liked  ;  but  it  is  the  most  fleeting  with  which  we 
are  acquainted.  Even  a  few  hours  will  diminish  it  ; 
and  if  the  berries  be  kept  for  two  or  three  days,  the 
flavour  is  almost  entirely  gone.  Even  on  the  bush,  the 
flavour  does  not  continue  above  two  or  three  days  after 
the  fruit  is  ripe.  Raspberries,  indeed,  to  be  enjoyed 
in  perfection,  should  be  eaten  from  the  bush.  They 
require  less  attendance  than  almost  any  other  fruit  ; 
and  if  the  twice-bearing  kind  be  mixed  with  the  others, 
they  may  be  continued  till  November.  The  shrubs 
come  into  full  bearing  about  three  years  after  the 
planting  of  the  stools  or  roots,  and  they  last  good  for 
about  three  years  more,  at  the  end  of  which  they 
begin  to  degenerate.  The  common  mode  of  propa- 
gation is  by  cuttings,  which  should  always  be  taken 
from  plants  that  are  in  their  prime  bearing  condition, 
on  or  about  the  fourth  year  after  they  are  planted.  A 
quantity  of  peat  or  bog-earth  greatly  improves  both 
the  size  and  the  flavour  of  raspberries.  New  varieties 
may  easily  be  obtained  from  the  seed,  the  plants  raised 
from  which  begin  to  bear  the  second  year.  There 
are  thirty-five  varieties  of  raspberry  mentioned  in  the 
Fruit  Catalogue  of  the  Horticultural  Society  ;  of 
which  the  differences  in  quality  are  very  considerable. 
Gardeners  in  general  appear  to  have  paid  too  little 
attention  to  these  differences. 

THE  STRAWBERRY — Fragaria  vesca. 

No   vegetable  production  of  the  colder  latitudes, 
or  which  can  be  ripened  in  those  latitudes  without 


THE    STRAWBERRY.  271 

the  assistance  of  artificial  heat,  is  at  all  comparable 
with  the  strawberry  in  point  of  flavour ;  and,  if 
the  soil  and  situation  be  properly  adapted  to  it,  the 
more  cold  the  climate,  indeed  the  more  bleak  and 
elevated,  the  more  delicious  is  the  berry.  The  fine 
aroma  of  the  strawberry  is  not  quite  so  evanescent 
as  that  of  the  raspberry  ;  but  it  is  by  no  means 
durable,  and  the  berries  can  be  had  in  absolute 
perfection  only  when  taken  from  the  plants,  and  in 
dry  weather,  for  a  very  slight  shower  will  render 
the  strawberry  comparatively  flavourless.  The  soils 
and  situations  in  which  the  strawberry  and  the 
raspberry  come  to  the  greatest  perfection  are  the 
very  opposites  of  each  other.  The  strawberry,  in 
all  its  varieties,  certainly  in  all  the  finest  of  them, 
is  a  sort  of  rock  plant;  and  soil  which  contains  a 
good  deal  of  decomposed  rock,  more  especially  if 
that  rock  be  greenstone,  or  any  other  containing 
much  clay,  produces  fruit  of  the  finest  flavour. 
The  places  where  the  strawberry  is  the  finest,  as 
raised  for  the  market,  and  of  course  as  produced  at 
the  least  expense  of  artificial  culture,  are  probably 
Edinburgh  and  Dundee,  at  both  of  which  the  soil 
is  of  the  description  mentioned. 

The  strawberry  is  very  widely  diffused,  being  found 
in  most  parts  of  the  world,  especially  in  Europe  and 
America.  Its  common  name  is  peculiar  to  England, 
and  is  supposed  to  have  been  derived  from  the  custom 
of  laying  straw  under  strawberry  plants  when  their 
fruit  begins  to  swell.  Others,  however,  contend  it  is 
sfraiyberry,  from  its  trailing  along  the  ground.  The 
gardener  of  Sir  Joseph  Banks  revived  this  old  me- 
thod with  advantage.  The  fruit  was  known  in  Lon- 
don as  an  article  of  ordinary  consumption,  in  the  time 
of  Henry  VI.  In  a  poem  of  that  age,  called  *  Lon- 
don Lyckpenny,'  by  John  Lidgate,  who  died  about 
1483,  we  find  the  following  lines  : — 


272  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

"  Then  unto  London  I  dyde  me  hye, 
Of  all  the  land  it  bearyth  the  pryse  ; 

'  Code  pescode,'  owne  began  to  cry — 
'  Strabery  ripe  and  cherrys  in  the  ryse.'  " 

It  is  mentioned  by  Hollinshed,  and  the  fact  has 
been  dramatised  by  Shakespeare,  that  Glo'ster,  when 
he  was  contemplating  the  death  of  Hastings,  asked 
the  bishop  of  Ely  for  strawberries  : — 

"My  lord  of  Ely,  when  I  was  last  in  Holborn, 
I  saw  good  strawberries  in  yourgarden  there." 

The  palace  and  garden  of  the  bishop  occupied  the 
site  which  is  now  Ely-place. 

The  cultivation  of  the  strawberry,  at  the  present  time, 
is  very  extensive  in  the  neighbourhood  of  London. 
The  largest  quantities,  and  the  finest  sorts,  are  grown 
at  Isleworth  and  Twickenham.  One  of  the  most 
remarkable  examples  of  the  power  of  the  human 
body  in  the  endurance  of  great  and  continued  fatigue, 
is  shewn  by  the  strawberry  women,  who,  during 
the  season,  carry  a  heavy  basket  on  the  head  twice 
daily  from  Twickenham  to  Covent  Garden,  walking 
upwards  of  forty  miles.  Fatigue  like  this  would  soon 
destroy  a  horse  ;  but  these  women,  who  come  pur- 
posely from  Wales  and  the  collieries,  endure  the 
labour  for  weeks  without  injury  or  complaint. 

The  common  wood  strawberry  (which  was  pro- 
bably the  earliest  cultivated)  has  the  leaves  rather 
small,  the  runners  (at  the  joints  of  which  the  new 
plants  are  produced)  slender,  and  often  of  a  purple 
colour.  The  fruit  is  small,  and  generally  red,  but 
without  much  flavour,  owing  to  its  being  shaded 
from  the  sun.  When  brought  out  of  the  shade,  or 
in  countries  where  the  influence  of  the  sun  is  more 
powerful,  both  its  size  and  flavour  are  very  much 
improved ;  and  though  not  the  handsomest,  it  becomes 
far  from  the  worst  of  the  cultivated  sorts.  There  is 
a  variety  of  the  wood  strawberry  a  good  deal  paler, 
both  in  the  leaves  and  the  fruit,  than  the  one  now 


THE    STRAWBERRY.  273 

mentioned,  which  also  ripens  later  in  the  season;  but 
it  is  by  no  means  productive,  and  is  accordingly  not 
much  cultivated. 

The  Alpine  strawberry  is,  in  its  native  situation,  a 
more  vigorous  plant,  and  produces  larger  and  more 
highly  flavoured  fruit  than  the  common  one  of  the 
woods.  It  is  often  much  darker  in  the  colour  than 
any  of  the  other  strawberries ;  and  when  it  is  so,  the 
flavour  has  a  sharpness  bordering  upon  austerity. — 

Still,  however,  it  is  an  excellent  fruit;  and  it  has  this 
advantage,  that  it  continues  bearing  from  June  until 
stopped  by  the  frost;  and,  in  very  open  seasons,  fruit 
has  been  gathered  from  it  at  Christmas. 

The  Hautbois  was  the  first  known  of  the  larger 
variety  of  strawberry.  Its  history  has  never  been  well 
ascertained,  though  it  is  generally  believed  to  be  the 
mountain  strawberry  of  Bohemia,  and  to  have  been 
first  improved  by  cultivation  in  France.  The  hautbois 
is  very  productive;  and  the  fruit  is  highly  flavoured, 
with  a  peculiar  kind  of  perfume;  but  some  care  is 
necessary  in  order  to  prevent  the  plants  from  dege- 
nerating. The  name  of  this  strawberry  is  probably 
derived  from  the  circumstances  of  the  scape  which 
bears  the  fruit  standing  higher  than  the  leaves,  and, 
consequently,  being  called  hautbois  (high  wood).  It 
is  not  improbable,  however,  that  its  original  locality 
in  the  high  woods  of  Bohemia  may  have  suggested 
the  name.  In  the  old  gardening  books  it  is  written 
hautboy. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  last  century,  the  Alpine 
strawberry  of  Chili  was  introduced  into  the  Royal 
Gardens  at  Paris,  and  from  thence  found  its  way  over 
many  parts  of  Europe.  It  grew  to  a  very  large  size, 
and  had  a  finer  colour  than  the  hautbois ;  but  in  the 
southern  countries  of  Europe  it  was  soon  neglected, 
because  it  ran  greatly  to  leaves,  produced  compara- 
tively little  fruit,  and  what  it  did  produce  was  defi- 

VOL    u  6 


274  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

cient  in  flavour.  The  "  old  scarlet  strawberry," 
which  was  an  original  introduction  from  North 
America,  has  been  an  inhabitant  of  our  gardens  for 
nearly  two  hundred  years.  The  "  old  black  straw- 
berry," an  unproductive  sort,  has  been  long  known  in 
England.  The  "  Chinese"  and  the  "  Surinam"  straw- 
berries are  of  considerable  antiquity  amongst  us. 
The  "  old  pine,  or  Carolina,"  has  been  cultivated  and 
highly  prized  by  the  English  growers,  lor  many 
years. 

Since  attention  began  to  be  paid  to  the  culture 
of  strawberries,  the  number  of  varieties  has  been 
greatly  increased.  The  British  strawberries  are  di- 
vided into  scarlet,  black;  pine,  hautbois,  green, 
alpine  and  wood,  according  to  a  classification  in  a 
valuable  paper  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  Horticultural 
Transactions.  Of  these  varieties,  the  pine  is  the  most 
esteemed.  It  is  a  native  of  Louisiana  and  of  Vir- 
ginia. Its  colour  is  a  deep  red  on  both  sides; 
and  it  is  the  most  rich  and  highly  flavoured  of  all 
strawberries,  constituting  the  most  valuable  variety 
that  has  yet  been  discovered. 

THE  BARBERRY — Berbens  vulgaris. 

This  'tree  is  a  native  originally  of  the  eastern 
countries,  though  it  is  now  found  in  most  parts  of 
Europe,  where  it  thrives  best  upon  light  and  chalky 
soils.  It  grew  formerly  wild,  in  great  quantities, 
in  the  hedgerows  of  England,  but  has  been  uni- 
versally banished,  from  a  general  belief  that  its  pre- 
sence is  injurious  to  the  growth  of  corn.  Duhamel, 
Broussonet,  and  other  scientific  writers,  treat  this  be- 
lief as  a  vulgar  prejudice.  It  should,  however,  be 
remarked,  that  the  fructification  of  the  barberry  is 
incomplete,  unless  the  stamens  be  irritated  by  insects 
when  the  filaments  suddenly  contract  in  a  most  re- 
markable manner  towards  the  germ.  The  flowers 
are,  therefore,  by  a  beautiful  arrangement  of  nature, 


SMALLER    BERRIES.  275 


a.  Elder-berry.          6.  Cloud-berry.          c.  Bramble-berry,          d.  Biller,-y. 

peculiarly  attractive  to  insects;  and  thus  the  barberry 
may  become  injurious  to  neighbouring  plants.  The 
berries  grow  in  bunches,  and  are  so  very  acid,  that 
they  are  seldom  eaten,  but  with  the  requisite  quan- 
tity of  sugar  they  make  an  excellent  jelly. 

THE   ELDER — Sambucus. 

The  elder  is  a  native  of  this  country;  is  very  gene- 
rally diffused;  grows  with  singular  rapidity,  though 
it  never  arrives  at  great  size;  and  endures  the  most 
bleak  situations,  though  in  the  northern  parts  of 
Scotland  the  fruit  seldom  ripens.  The  berries  of  the 
elder  are  fermented  into  a  wine,  which  when  spiced 
and  drunk  warm,  is  a  pleasing  winter  beverage.  They 
arc  supposed  to  contain  a  portion  of  the  narcotic 
principle.  The  black  variety  is  chiefly  cultivated 
ibr  this  purpose;  but  the  berries  of  the  yellow  and 
green  are  also  applicable  to  wine  making.  There  is 
also  an  elder  flower  wine,  with  a  flavour  resembling 
Frontignac. 

The  elder-tree  furnishes  the  unscientific  prac- 
titioner of  the  healing  art  with  many  of  the  most 


276  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

approved  remedies ;  and  perhaps  not  without  reason. 
Boerhaave,  the  great  physician,  is  said  to  have  re- 
garded the  elder  with  such  reverence,  for  its  medi- 
cinal virtues,  that  he  sometimes  took  off  his  hat  in 
passing  a  tree  of  this  species. 

THE  BRAMBLE — Rubus  fruticosus. 

Though  the  bramble  is  rather  annoying  with  its 
long  trailing  stems  and  its  sharp  thorns,  the  fruit, 
commonly  called  blackberry,  is  perhaps  in  its  wild 
state  (and  it  does  not  need  to  be  cultivated)  among 
the  best,  and  certainly  it  is  the  most  abundant,  of  our 
native  berries.  The  bramble  prefers  a  soil  that  is 
moderately  good;  but,  it  is  found  in  every  situation, 
except  marshes,  to  the  borders  of  which  it  creeps 
very  close.  On  the  slopes  of  the  Welsh  mountains, 
more  especially  in  Denbigshire,  the  bramble  berry 
grows  to  the  size  of  a  middling  gooseberry;  and  in 
a  dry  and  sunny  autumn  is  really  an  excellent  fruit. 
Pliny  mentions  the  mulberry  growing  on  a  brier,  which 
probably  was  a  fine  blackberry.  In  England  there 
are  a  number  of  species  confounded  under  the  names 
of  rubus  fruticosus,  and  rubus  corylifolius,  that  vary 
very  much  in  the  quality  of  their  fruit,  some  of  them 
really  deserving  cultivation.  The  family  of  brambles 
is  divided  into  those  with  upright  stems,  those  with 
prostrate  stems,  and  those  with  herbaceous  stems. 

There  is  another  species  of  bramble,  the  Arctic  or 
Dwarf  crimson  (Rubus  arcticus.)  This  is  a  small 
species,  and  a  native  of  the  coldest  regions  of  the 
world.  Its  fruit,  however,  is  exceedingly  delicious; 
and  were  it  possible  to  cultivate  it  in  any  habitable 
situation,  it  would  be  a  most  important  addition 
to  garden  berries.  We  have  not  heard  of  its 
ever  having  been  found  either  hi  England  or  in  the 
Welsh  mountains;  and  in  Scotland  it  grows  only  in 
the  most  wild  and  elevated  situations.  Some  of  the 


SMALLER    BERRIES.  277 

Scottish  horticulturists  have  tried  to  raise  it  from  the 
seed,  and  have,  we  believe,  obtained  plants;  though 
the  fruit,  when  they  bore  any,  has  been  tasteless, 
and  the  plants  themselves  are  preserved  alive 
with  difficulty.  The  Arctic  berry,  which  grows  in 
the  wildest  and  most  exposed  districts  of  Lapland, 
sometimes  offered  to  Linnaeus  the  only  food  which  he 
found  in  his  perilous  journey  in  those  dreary  re- 
gions; and  he  thus  speaks  of  it  with  much  feeling: — 
"  I  should  be  ungrateful  towards  this  beneficent 
plant,  which  often,  when  1  was  almost  prostrate  with 
hunger  and  fatigue,  restored  me  with  the  vinous 
nectar  of  its  berries,  did  I  not  bestow  on  it  a  full 
description."'* 

THE  CLOUD-BERKY — Robus  chamcemorus. 

This  is  another  mountainous  berry,  which  it  is  ex- 
ceedingly difficult  to  cultivate.  A  single  berry  grows 
on  the  top  of  the  stem.  These  berries  are  much 
more  numerous  than  the  former,  though,  like  them, 
they  are  found  only  in  very  elevated  and  exposed 
situations — on  the  sides  of  the  loftiest  mountains  in 
Scotland.  The  berries  are  about  the  size  of  small 
strawberries,  and  the  flavour  is  exceedingly  fine,  su- 
perior to  that  of  any  of  the  strawberries,  as  found 
wild  in  this  country,  and  having  a  sharpness  which 
does  not  belong  even  to  the  best  of  those  which  are 
cultivated.  They  remain  in  season  for  about  a  month ; 
and,  during  that  time,  the  Highlanders,  in  the  dis- 
tricts where  they  are  found,  (for  they  are  by  no  means 
generally  diffused  over  the  Highlands,)  collect  them 
in  considerable  quantities,  and  make  them  into  excel- 
lent preserves.  In  the  east,  as  well  as  the  north,  the 
wild  berries  of  the  mountains  and  vallies,  which  na- 
ture offers  in  such  abundance  for  a  short  season,  are 
thus  used  by  man: 

*  Flora  Lapponica. 
VOL.     II.  6* 


278  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

"  With  rich  conserve  of  Visna  cherries, 
Of  orange  flowers,  and  of  those  berries 
That,  wild  and  fresh,  the  young  gazelles 
Feed  on  in  Erac's  rocky  dells."* 

In  more  northern  countries  the  cloud-berry  is  still 
more  abundant,  so  much  so  as  to  justify  the  enco- 
mium passed  on  it  by  the  poet,  while  speaking  of 
those  dreary  lands: — 

"  Ever  enduring  snows,  perpetual  shades 

Of  darkness,  would  congeal  the  living  blood, 
Did  not  the  arctic  tract  spontaneous  yield 
A  cheering  purple  berry,  big  with  wine." 

In  the  northern  parts  of  Sweden  and  Norway,  and 
in  Lapland,  even  to  the  North  Cape,  the  cloud-berry 
grows  in  such  abundance  as  to  be  an  article  of  ex- 
tensive commerce.  Great  quantities  of  it  are  sent 
every  autumn  to  the  Swedish  capital,  and  to  the 
southern  parts  of  that  country,  where  they  are  used 
in  a  variety  of  ways;  and,  in  fact,  it  forms  the  prin- 
cipal fruit  that  they  have. 

Dr.  Clarke  notices  the  value  of  this  berry  in  his 
travels : — "  In  woods,  and  moist  situations  near  the 
river,  we  found  the  Rubus  chamcemorus  still  in  flower. 
The  Swedes  call  it  Hiortron;  the  Laplanders  give  it 
the  name  of  Latoch;  the  inhabitants  of  Westro- 
Bothnia  call  it  Snotter;  and  in  Norway  its  appella- 
tion is  Multebaear.  The  same  plant  is  found  upon 
some  of  the  highest  mountains,  and  in  some  of  the 
peat -bogs  of  the  north  of  England;  on  which  ac- 
count, perhaps,  it  is  called  cloud-berry  in  our  island: 
but  it  is  not  likely  that  its  fruit  ever  attains  the  same 
degree  of  maturity  and  perfection  in  Great  Britain 
as  in  Lapland,  where  the  sun  acts  with  such  power 
during  the  summer.  Its  medicinal  properties  have 
certainly  been  overlooked,  owing,  perhaps,  either  to 
this  circumstance,  or  to  its  rarity  in  Great  Britain. 

*  Moore's  Lalla  Rookh. 


SMALLER    BERRIES.  279 

The  fruit  is  sent  in  immense  quantities,  in  autumn, 
from  all  the  north  of  the  gulph  of  Bothnia  to  Stock- 
holm, where  it  is  used  for  sauces,  and  in  making 
vinegar."* 

Our  English  traveller,  as  appears  by  the  following 
passage,  was  under  greater  obligations  to  the  cloud- 
berry than  the  Swedish  naturalist  to  the  other  species 
of  Arctic  fruit: — 

"  Mr.  Grape's  children  came  into  the  room,  bring- 
ing with  them  two  or  three  gallons  of  the  fruit  of  the 
cloud-berry,  or  Robus  chamcemorus.  This  plant 
grows  so  abundantly  near  the  river,  that  it  is  easy  to 
gather  bushels  of  the  fruit.  As  the  large  berry  ripens, 
which  is  as  big  as  the  top  of  a  man's  thumb,  its 
colour,  at  first  scarlet,  becomes  yellow.  When  eaten 
with  sugar  and  cream,  it  is  cooling  and  delicious, 
and  tastes  like  the  large  American  hautboy-straw- 
berries. Little  did  the  author  dream  of  the  blessed 
effects  he  was  to  experience  by  tasting  of  the  offering 
brought  by  these  little  children;  who,  proud  of  having 
their  gifts  accepted,  would  gladly  run  and  gather 
daily  a  fresh  supply;  which  was  as  often  blended 
with  cream  and  sugar  by  the  hands  of  their  mother; 
until  at  last  he  perceived  that  his  fever  rapidly  abated; 
his  spirits  and  his  appetite  returned;  and,  when, 
sinking  under  a  disorder  so  obstinate  that  it  seemed 
to  be  incurable,  the  blessings  of  health  were  restored 
to  him,  where  he  had  reason  to  believe  he  should 
have  found  his  grave.  The  symptons  of  amend- 
ment were  almost  instantaneous  after  eating  of  these 
berries."* 

THE  BiLBERRYjOr  BLEABERRY —  Vaccinium  myrtillus. 

This  berry  grows  plentifully  on  heaths  and  waste 
places;  and  though  it  does  not  live  in  situations  as 
*  Clarke's  Travels,  vol  ix.  pp.  371,  2.  t  Ibid.  p.  470,  1. 


280  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

cold  as  those  which  have  been  mentioned,  it  is  very 
hardy.  It  is  a  handsome  berry,  with  a  delicate 
bloom  when  in  perfection;  but  it  is  tender,  and, 
when  kept  for  some  time,  ferments.  In  some  of  the 
pine  forests  in  Scotland  it  grows  to  the  height  of 
three  feet;  and  there  are  places  where  the  pedes- 
trian can  pull  handfuls  of  berries  as  large  as  the 
common  black  currant  of  the  gardens. 

Two  other  species  of  Vaccinium,  the  black  whortle- 
berry, and  the  red  (the  cranberry)  are  common 
enough  in  some  parts  of  this  country.  One,  if  not 
both  of  these,  grows  most  readily  in  moist  situa- 
tions, such  as  the  dry  patches  in  peat-bogs.  Tusser 
mentions  "  htfrtil-berries"  amongst  the  cultivated 
fruits  of  his  time.  These  were,  perhaps,  confounded 
with  the  fruit  of  the  brambles.  "  Dewberries1' 
(though  supposed  by  some  to  be  gooseberries)  were 
formerly  amongst  the  delicacies  of  fruit,  if  we  may 
judge  from  the  celebrated  passage  in  Midsummer's 
Night's  Dream: — 

"  Feed  him  with  apricots  and  dewberries, 

With  purple  grapes,  green  figs,  and  mulberries." 

The  red  cranberry  (Vaccinium  rilis  tdcea),  of 
which  the  berries  are  excellent,  has  borne  fruit  abun- 
dantly under  cultivation.  The  berries  of  the  Penn- 
sylvanian  Vaccinium  are  very  ornamental. 

This  genus  of  berries  is  very  abundant  in  North 
America,  and  also  in  the  northern  parts  of  Russia. 
The  American  cranberry  (  Vaccinium  macrocarpon) 
forms  a  considerable  article  of  commerce;  and,  as 
does  not  appear  to  be  the  case  with  some  others  of 
the  genus,  it  may  be  cultivated  to  advantage  on  the 
margins  of  ponds,  and  in  other  moist  situations. 
The  importation  of  cranberries  to  this  country  is 
about  30,000  gallons  annually,  the  duty  being  six- 
pence per  gallon.  This  species  has  been  grown  in 
England. 


THE    GUALTHERIA.  281 

GUALTHERIA    SlIALLON. 

This  is  a  new  and  interesting  berry,  recently 
found  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America.  Mr.  D. 
Douglas,  an  indefatigable  naturalist,  whom  we  have 
already  mentioned  in  the  Part  on  Timber  Trees,  sent 
the  seeds  of  this  plant  home  in  1825  to  the  Horti- 
cultural Society,  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty  as  col- 
lector to  that  establishment.  These  plants,  now 
growing  in  the  gardens  of  the  Horticultural  Society, 
promise  remarkably  well  :  and  if  the  fruit  shall  equal 
in  size  that  of  their  preserved  specimen,  the  Gual- 
theria  will  be  among  the  handsomest  of  the  berries. 
Mr.  Douglas  has  thus  described  the  Gualtheria  Shallon 
in  that  pleasing  work,  l  Loddiges'  Botanical  Cabinet:' 
— "  In  its  natural  state  it  is  a  most  graceful  spreading 
shrub,  from  four  to  ten  feet  high,  and  exceeding  that, 
when  growing  on  stumps  of  decayed  pines.  It 
flowers  from  April  through  the  summer;  and  the 
fruit,  which  is  good,  is  ripe  from  July  to  October. 
It  is  very  abundant,  and  much  esteemed  by  the  in- 
habitants, who  dry  it  in  the  sun,  and  sometimes  make 
it  into  a  kind  of  cake,  for  winter  use.  It  will,  I 
doubt  not,  become  a  valuable  addition  to  the  dessert, 
and,  probably,  be  useful  for  making  wine,  as  it  pos- 
sesses a  great  portion  of  saccharine  jelly.  I  have  seen 
it  from  forty  to  forty-five  degrees  north  latitude;  and, 
according  to  Mr.  Menzies,  who  discovered  it,  and 
Dr.  Scouler,  it  is  plentiful  at  Nootka  Sound.  It  is 
exclusively  confined  to  the  mountainous,  woody  parts 
of  the  coast,  being  rarely  seen  above  one  hundred 
miles  from  it,  or  beyond  the  influence  of  the  sea 
breeze.  The  young  shoots  are  the  favourite  winter 
food  of  the  elk  and  other  kinds  of  deer." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Pulpy  fruits  borne  by  Herbaceous  Plants.— Melon ;  Cucumber;  Gourds; 
Love.Apple  ;  Egg-Plain. 

THE  pulpy  fruits  that  are  borne  by  herbaceous  plants 
principally  belong  to  three  genera.  They  are  all 
annuals,  and  some  of  them  grow  to  an  immense 
size.  Each  of  the  genera,  besides  the  esculent  spe- 
cies, contains  many  that  are  merely  curiosities;  and 
among  them  there  are  some  that  have  powerful  me- 
dicinal qualities,  and  others  that  are  poisonous.  The 
melon  and  cucumber  belong  to  the  genus  Cucumis;  to 
which  also  belongs  the  Cucumis  Colocynlhis,  a  native 
of  Turkey,  which  yields  the  colocynth  of  medicine. 
To  the  genus  Cucurbilu  belong  the  water-melon,  the 
pumpkin,  the  succada,  or  vegetable  marrow,  the 
squash,  and  the  calabash;  and  to  the  genus  Solatium 
the  varieties  of  love-apple  and  egg-plant.  Of  these, 
several  are  not  used  as  food  in  England,  though  all 
of  them  bear  fruit,  and  many  of  them  in  the  open 
air;  but  in  regions  more  favourable  to  their  growth, 
or  where  other  esculent  substances  are  less  abundant, 
they  are  all  more  or  less  used  as  food. 

THE  MELON — Cucumis  meh. 

The  melon  is  the  richest  and  most  highly  flavoured 
of  all  the  fleshy  fruits.  It  is  often  said  to  be  a  native 
of  the  central  parts  of  Asia,  and  to  have  been  first 
brought  into  Europe  from  Persia;  but  the  date  of 
its  first  culture  is  so  remote,  that  there  is  no  certain 
knowledge  on  the  subject.  Pliny  and  Columella 
describe  the  fondness  of  the  Emperor  Tiberius  for 
melons,  and  detail  the  contrivances  by  which  they 


THE    MELON,  283 


Goulds. 


were  procured  for  him  at  all  seasons.  Stoves  ap- 
pear to  have  been  used  in  this  process  ;  so  that 
forcing-houses  were  not  unknown  to  the  Romans. 
The  melon  has  certainly  been  generally  cultivated 
in  England  since  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth 
century  ;  how  much  earlier  is  not  known.  It  is 
highly  probable  that  those  ecclesiastics  who  paid 
such  attention  to  the  other  fruits  grown  in  Italy 
and  France,  would  not  neglect  one  so  delicious  as 
the  melon;  and  it  is  distinctly  said  by  a  writer  on 
British  Topography,  Gough,  that  the  cultivation  of 
the  melon  in  England  preceded  the  wars  of  York 
and  Lancaster,  but  that  it  was  destroyed  in  the 
times  of  civil  trouble  that  succeeded.  It  is  probable, 
however,  that  the  melon  was  confounded  with  the 
pumpkin  by  the  earlier  writers  whom  Gough  con- 
sulted. While  in  France,  and  in  England,  melons  are 
grown  as  an  article  of  luxury,  in  some  parts  of  the 
East  they  are  used  as  a  chief  necessary  of  life.  JVie- 
buhr,  the  celebrated  traveller,  says,  "  Of  pumpkins 
and  melons,  several  sorts  grow  naturally  in  the 
woods,  and  serve  for  feeding  camels;  but  the  proper 
melons  are  planted  in  the  fields,  where  a  great  variety 


284  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

of  them  is  to  be  found,  and  in  such  abundance,  that 
the  Arabians  of  all  ranks  use  them,  for  some  part  of 
the  year,  as  their  principal  article  of  food.  They 
afford  a  very  agreeable  liquor.  When  its  fruit  is 
nearly  ripe,  a  hole  is  pierced  into  the  pulp;  this  hole 
is  then  stopped  with  wax,  and  the  melon  left  upon 
the  stalk.  Within  a  few  days  the  pulp  is,  in  conse- 
quence of  this  process,  converted  into  a  delicious 
liquor."  Mr.  Southey  has  alluded  to  this  circum- 
stance in  the  following  passage : 

"  Whither  is  gone  the  boy  ? 
He  had  pierced  the  melon's  pulp, 
And  clothed  with  wax  the  wound  ; 
And  he  had  duly  gone  at  morn 
And  watched  its  ripening  rind  ; 
And  now  all  joyfully  he  brings 
The  treasure,  now  matured."* 

Although  the  melon  is  a  very  delicious  fruit,  it  is 
not  one  of  the  most  wholesome  ;  more  especially  in 
cold  climates,  where,  if  eaten  in  any  considerable 
quantity,  it  is  apt  to  derange  the  stomach,  unless 
corrected  by  warm  and  stimulating  ingredients  ;  and 
the  same  remark  may  be  applied  to  the  cucumber. 

Small  melons  are,  when  equally  ripe,  more  highly 
flavoured  than  large  ones.  In  general,  however,  the 
fruit  is  chosen  as  much  for  show  as  for  use,  and  thus 
the  large  ones  are  preferred.  Indeed,  in  almost  all 
the  cultivated  fruits  and  vegetables,  quality  is  very 
apt  to  be  sacrificed  to  appearance ;  as  in  the  markets 
the  articles  are  bought  by  the  judgment  of  the  eye, 
and  not  by  that  of  the  palate.  To  obtain  the  large 
size,  a  ranker  manuring,  and  higher  culture,  must  be 
resorted  to  than  are  altogether  consistent  with  the 
natural  developement  of  the  juices  of  the  plant. 

Of  the  melon  there  are  many  varieties,  and  the 
number  of  them  is  constantly  increasing.  Seventy- 

*  Thalaba,  book  ii. 


THE    MELON.  285 

one  arc  enumerated  in  the  Fruit  Catalogue  of  the  Hor- 
ticultural Society.  The  Cantaloupe  is  one  of  the  best. 
It  obtains  its  name  from  a  seat  belonging  to  the 
Pope,  not  far  from  Rome,  where  it  was  probably 
first  cultivated  in  Europe,  and  whence  it  has  spread 
into  most  countries.  The  Cantaloupe  is  of  a  mid- 
dling size,  nearly  round  in  form,  and  remarkably 
rough  and  irregular  in  the  surface.  The  colours, 
both  of  the  surface  and  the  flesh,  vary, — the  former 
from  orange  mottled  with  green,  to  green  mottled 
with  black;  and  the  latter  from  white,  or  nearly  so, 
to  orange  tinged  with  rose  colour.  The  flesh  of 
some  varieties  is  greenish,  but  these  are  inferior  to 
the  others.  When  melons  of  this  sort  are  equally 
ripened,  it  may  be  considered  as  a  general  rule,  that 
those  which  are  darkest  on  the  outside,  most  richly 
tinted  in  the  flesh,  and  of  a  moderate  size,  have  the 
most  high  and  musky  flavour. 

There  is  also  a  small  African  or  Egyptian  melony 
the  flesh  of  which  is  green,  of  particular  excellence. 
Frederick  the  Great  was  passionately  fond  of  these 
melons;  and  Zimmerman,  who  attended  him  in  his 
last  illness,  finding  him  very  ill  from  indigestion,  dis- 
covered that  he  ate  three  or  four  of  them  daily  for 
breakfast.  On  remonstrating  with  the  king,  the  only 
answer  that  the  physician  could  get  was,  that  the 
king  would  send  him  some  of  the  fruit  to  taste  the 
next  day, — as  if  its  excellence  would  be  a  sufficient 
apology  for  the  habitual  indiscretion.* 

The  Romana  is  also  a  fine  melon;  and  it  ripens 
earlier  than  the  Cantaloupe.  The  surface  is  often 
netted.  It  is  of  an  oval  shape,  highly  flavoured,  and 
when  good,  very  heavy  and  solid. 

The  Salonica,  which  has  been  but  recently  intro- 
duced into  this  country,  is  a  beautiful  melon.  It  is 

*  Zimmerman's  Conversations  with  the  King  of  Prussia. 
VOL.    II.  7 


286  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

spherical,  smooth,  and  of  a  fine  golden  colour.  The 
flesh  is  white,  very  sweet,  and  in  consistency  resem- 
bling the  water-melon.  The  Salonica  preserves  its 
qualities,  though  it  is  very  large;  and  with  good 
culture  specimens  may  be  had  weighing  seven  or 
eight  pounds. 

The  small  Portugal  is  a  very  early  and  productive 
melon,  but  not  remarkable  for  flavour.  The  rock- 
melons  are  thickly  set  with  knobs ;  they  are  of  various 
colours,  and  some  of  them  of  very  fine  flavour.  The 
oblong  ribbed  is  marked  into  segments  from  the  root 
to  the  crown;  it  is  very  productive;  and  the  flavour 
is  so  high,  that  it  is  sometimes  called,  by  way  of 
eminence,  the  musk-melon. 

The  melons  of  Persia  have  long  borne  a  high  cha- 
racter. "  Persia,"  says  Malte  Brun,  writing  after 
Chardin,  Olivier,  and  Langles,  "  is  consoled  for 
the  occasional  failure  of  her  grain  crop,  by  the  fine- 
ness of  her  fruits.  There  are  twenty  sorts  of  melons 
— the  finest  in  Khorassan.  In  Persia,  this  fruit  is 
extremely  succulent,  and  contributes  greatly  to 
health:  they  are  sometimes  so  large  that  three  or 
four  are  a  full  load  for  a  man."  It  was  not  till  lately 
that  the  seeds  of  melons  were  received  here  direct 
from  that  country.  In  1824,  Mr.  Willock,  the  Am- 
bassador to  the  court  of  Persia,  sent  a  parcel  of  seed; 
and  another  parcel  in  the  spring  of  1 826.  An  account 
often  varieties  of  these  melons,  by  Mr.  Lindley,  was 
read  before  the  Horticultural  Society  in  September, 
1 826 ;  and  the  individual  fruits  referred  to  were  the 
produce  of  the  Society's  garden  that  season. 

The  Persian  melons  are  extremely  rich  and  sweet; 
and  instead  of  the  thick  rind  of  the  common  melons, 
they  have  a  very  thin  and  delicate  skin,  which  makes 
a  fruit  of  the  same  apparent  size  contain  nearly  twice 
as  much  edible  matter.  In  addition  to  this,  the  melons 
are  beautiful,  and  they  bear  abundantly;  but  they 


THE    CUCUMBER.  287 

require  a  great  deal  of  care.  In  the  warm  climate  of 
Persia,  the  only  attention  which  they  ask  from  the 
cultivator,  is  to  be  regularly  watered  5  and  though 
the  melons  may  be  supplied  with  water  artificially, 
the  air,  in  their  native  country,  is  still  very  dry:  this 
humid  soil  and  dry  atmosphere  are,  as  Mr.  Lindley 
remarks,  very  difficult  to  be  obtained  in  this  country. 
The  covering  which  is  requisite  for  confining  the 
heat  confines  also  the  moisture  raised  by  evaporation. 
It  is  further  judiciously  observed  in  this  paper,  that 
the  supply  of  water  should  be  at  the  roots,  and  not 
over  the  plant;  and  that  the  air  should  be  kept  warm 
by  repeated  changes  of  soil  on  the  surface,  and  dry 
by  abundant  ventilation.  Some  of  the  melons,  of 
which  Mr.  Willock  furnished  the  seed,  are  ready  for 
the  table  as  soon  as  cut ;  and  some  are  winter  melons, 
which  must  be  kept  for  some  months  before  they  are 
eaten. 

THE  CUCUMBER — Cucumis  saliva. 

The  cucumber,  like  the  melon,  is  an  annual,  and, 
being  a  native  of  warmer  climates,  it  does  not  ripen 
in  Britain,  except  in  very  favourable  situations, 
without  the  protection  either  of  a  frame  or  a  hand- 
glass. 

In  the  East  the  cucumber  has  been  very  extensively 
cultivated  from  the  earliest  periods,  as  well  as  most 
of  the  other  species  of  gourd.  When  the  Israelites 
complained  to  Moses  in  the  wilderness,  comparing 
their  old  Egyptian  luxuries  with  the  manna  upon 
which  they  were  fed,  they  exclaimed,  "  We  remember 
the  fish  which  we  did  eat  in  Egypt  freely, — the 
cucumbers  and  the  melons."  Hasselquist,  in  his 
Travels,  states  that  these  cooling  fruits  still  form  a 
great  part  of  the  food  of  the  lower  class  of  the 
people  in  Egypt,  especially  during  the  summer 
months;  and  that  the  water-melon  in  particular, 


288          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

which  is  cultivated  in  the  alluvial  soil  left  by  the 
inundation  of  the  Nile,  serves  them  for  meat,  drink, 
and  physic.  The  cucumber  of  Syria  was  cultivated 
in  large  open  fields,  in  which  a  hut  was  erected  for 
the  abode  of  the  watchman,  who  guarded  the  fruit 
against  foxes  and  jackals.  These  fields,  doubtless, 
were  far  away  from  the  habitations  of  men;  for 
Isaiah,  speaking  of  the  desolation  of  Judah,  says, 
"  The  daughter  of  Zion  is  left  as  a  cottage  in  a  vine- 
yard— as  a  lodge  in  a  garden  of  cucumbers."  In 
India  beyond  the  Ganges,  Bishop  Heber  saw  a  man 
in  a  small  shed  of  bamboos  and  thatch,  watching  a 
field  of  cucumbers;  and  he  was  naturally  interested 
in  the  circumstance,  as  being  the  same  custom  to 
which  Isaiah  alludes.  He  again  observed  a  watcher 
of  cucumbers,  who  lighted  a  fire  during  the  night,  to 
keep  off  the  wild  dogs  and  wolves  from  his  fruit.  On 
the  west  side  of  the  Jordan,  Burckhardt  saw  fields  of 
cucumbers. 

The  cucumber  has  been  known  in  England  from 
the  very  earliest  records  of  horticulture.  Gough  says, 
that  it  was  common,  like  the  melon,  in  the  time  of 
Edward  III.;  but  being  neglected  and  disused,  be- 
came entirely  forgotten,  till  the  reign  of  Henry  VIII. 
It  was  not  generally  cultivated  till  about  the  middle 
of  the  seventeenth  century.  There  are  many  varieties 
of  cucumbers. 

Some  cucumbers  are  cultivated  for  their  fantastic 
shapes,  of  which  the  Snake  is  remarkable  for  its 
great  length  and  small  diameter;  but  it  is  of  no  value, 
except  for  shew. 

GOURD  s —  Cucurbita. 

Of  the  gourd  there  are  many  varieties,  some  of 
them  of  beautiful  form  and  colour,  and  others  of  an 
immense  size.  In  England,  however,  they  are  cul- 
tivated more  as  matters  of  curiosity  than  for  food. 


GOURDS.  289 

One  sort,  the  Pumpkin  (Cucurbita  pepo},  is  occa- 
sionally eaten,  but  always  in  a  baked  state,  and  com- 
bined with  other  substances  of  higher  flavour.  In 
warm  situations,  and  ^vhen  highly  manured,  it  grows 
luxuriantly  in  the  open  air;  and  villagers  sometimes 
grow  it,  and  when  ripe,  convert  it  into  a  sort  of  pie, 
by  cutting  a  hole  in  the  side,  extracting  the  seeds  and 
filaments,  stuffing  the  cavity  with  apples  and  spices, 
and  baking  the  whole.  The  pumpkin  seems  to  have 
been  earlier  introduced  into  general  culture  than  either 
the  cucumber  or  the  melon:  the  pumpkin  is,  in  fact, 
the  melon  of  the  old  English  writers,  the  true  melon 
being  then  styled  the  musk  melon.  The  pumpkic 
or  gourd  enters  more  into  the  cookery  of  the  southern 
nations  on  the  Continent,  than  into  those  of  Britain. 

The  Squash  ( Cucurbita  melopepo)  is  little  culti- 
vated or  eaten  in  this  country,  though  it  is  often 
used  in  the  southern  parts  of  Europe,  and  in  North 
America.  It  is  said  to  be  a  native  of  the  Levant,  but 
probably  it  is  found  in  many  other  places.  It  is 
better  adapted  for  boiling  or  stewing  in  a  green 
state  than  any  other  gourd.  At  Versailles,  the 
people  esteem  it  so  much  for  this  purpose  that  they 
call  it  a  "  livre  de  beurre."  The  orange  fruited  gourd 
(  Cucurbita  aurantia}  is  a  native  of  the  East  Indies. 
It  is  a  very  handsome  variety,  but  cultivated  only  as 
a  curiosity.  The  calabash,  or  bottle  gourd  (  Cucurbita 
lagenaria),  is  similar  to  the  other  in  quality,  and 
gets  its  trivial  name*  as  well  from  its  form  as  from 
the  use  of  which  the  hard  and  tough  rind  is  applied. 
It  is  a  native  both  of  the  East  and  the  West  Indies; 
and  the  humbler  inhabitants  employ  these  gourds  as 
ready  made  bowls  and  other  vessels.  In  some  parts 

*  Trivial  is  a  term  used  by  botanists  for  a  name  descriptive 
of  the  species  only — as  distinguished  from  other  names  which 
point  out  a  genus. 

VOL.    H.  7* 


290  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

of  the  East,  gourds  are  sufficiently  large  to  support 
a  man  in  the  water,  who  floats  upon  a  cross  bar 
fastened  to  the  top  of  two  of  vast  dimensions. 

Vegetable  marrow  ( Cucurbita  succada)  is  a  very 
important  gourd;  and  though  it  has  been  but  lately 
introduced  into  this  country,  it  is  already  cultivated 
to  a  considerable  extent.  It  is  straw  coloured,  of  an 
oval  or  elongated  shape,  and  when  full  grown  attains 
the  length  of  about  nine  inches.  When  very  young, 
it  eats  well  fried  in  butter;  when  half  grown,  it  may 
be  cooked  in  a  variety  of  ways,  and  is  peculiarly  soft 
and  rich,  having  an  oily  and  almost  an  animal  fla- 
vour; when  fully  matured,  it  may  be  made  into  pies, 
for  which  purpose  it  is  much  superior  to  any  of  the 
other  gourds.  But  it  is  in  the  intermediate  or  half 
grown  state  only  that  it  deserves  its  common  appel- 
lation of  vegetable  marrow.  The  vegetable  marrow 
gourd  is  a  native  of  Persia;  but  if  the  soil  on  which 
it  is  placed  be  rich  and  warm  enough,  it  thrives  very 
well  with  us  in  the  open  air. 

"  I  have  been  able,"  says  Mr.  Sabine,  "  to  obtain 
but  very  imperfect  accounts  of  the  origin  of  this 
gourd.  It  was  certainly  new  in  this  country  within 
a  few  years;  and  I  think  the  most  probable  account, 
of  the  many  that  I  have  heard,  of  its  introduction,  is, 
that  the  first  seeds  were  brought  here  in  one  of  our 
East  India  Ships,  and  came  probably  from  Persia, 
where,  as  I  am  told,  it  is  known,  and  called  Cicader. 
Its  cultivation  is  easy."  If  any  other  kind  of  gourd 
grow  in  the  neighbourhood,  no  reliance  can  be  placed 
on  the  goodness  of  the  seed  of  the  vegetable  marrow. 

The  Water-melon  {Cucurbita  Citrullus),  though 
not  much  cultivated  in  this  country,  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  vegetables  in  warm  and  arid  climates, 
answering  there  both  for  food  and  drink.  The  fruit 


THE    LOVE-APPLE.  291 

is  large,  the  flesh  sweet  and  succulent,  and  the 
juice  delightfully  cool.  Hasselquist,  however,  re- 
commends caution  in  the  use  of  this  gourd,  "  for," 
says  he  "  it  chilled  my  stomach  like  a  bit  of  ice."* 
It  is  a  native  of  the  south  of  Europe,  of  Egypt,  and 
the  Levant,  and  of  South  America.  In  the  penin- 
sula of  Araya,  where  sometimes  rain  does  not  fall 
for  fifteen  months,  water-melons  weighing  from  fifty 
to  seventy  pounds  are  not  uncommon. "f  It  was 
introduced  into  England  about  the  same  time  with 
the  common  melon. 


Egg-plant  and  Love-apple. 

LOVE  APPLE — Solanum  lycopersicum. 

The  love-apple,  or  tomata,  is  a  native  of  the  tropical 
parts  of  South  America;  but  as  it  now  thrives  well  in 
the  warmer  countries  of  Europe,  and  will,  if  the  plants 
are  forwarded  in  a  hot-bed  in  the  early  part  of  the 
season,  produce  fruit  with  as  much  certainty  in  this 
country,  upon  a  warm  border,  it  may  be  considered 
as  naturalized  in  the  temperate  regions.  It  is  an 
annual:  the  leaves  and  flowers  have  some  resem- 

*  Travels  in  the  Levant,  p.  257.  8vo 
t  Humboldt,  Voyages,  liv.  Hi.,  chap.  viii. 


292  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

blance  to  those  of  the  potatoe,  only  the  latter  are 
yellow.  The  fruit,  when  ripe,  attains  the  size  of  a 
small  apple.  It  is  compressed  at  the  crown  and 
base,  and  furrowed  along  the  sides;  the  whole  is  of 
uniform  colour,  and  smooth  and  shining.  There  are 
some  varieties  both  in  the  shape  and  colour  of  the 
fruit;  bright  red  and  orange  are  the  prevailing  colours. 
The  love-apple  is  used  for  eating  in  every  stage  of 
its  growth.  When  green,  it  is  pickled  or  preserved; 
when  ripe,  it  is  employed  for  soups  and  sauces,  and 
the  juice  is  made  into  a  kind  of  ketchup.  In  this 
country,  however,  where  the  culture  requires  a  good 
deal  of  care,  except  in  favourable  situations,  the 
love-apple  is  not  in  very  general  use;  but  in  warmer 
countries  it  is  in  much  more  esteem,  so  that  in  Italy 
whole  fields  are  covered  with  it,  and  it  is  a  general 
article  at  table. 

Humboldt  describes  a  species  of  the  Solatium, 
which  he  conceives  indigenous  to  the  isle  of  Cura, 
and  which  is  at  present  cultivated  in  many  parts  of 
South  America.  The  fruit  is  round  and  small,  but 
very  savoury. 

The  Egg-plant  belongs  to  the  same  family,  has 
the  same  habits,  and  requires  nearly  the  same  cul- 
ture as  the  love-apple.  It  is  found  in  the  warmer 
parts  of  Africa,  Asia,  and  America:  it  is  an  annual; 
rises  to  the  height  of  about  two  feet;  bears  light 
violet  flowers,  which  are  followed  by  large  fleshy 
berries,  having  the  size  and  shape,  and,  in  the  white 
varieties,  very  much  the  colour  and  resemblance  of 
eggs, — whence  the  common  name.  The  forms 
of  the  egg-plant  are  globe-shaped  and  oval  ;  and 
some  of  both  forms  are  white,  and  others  purple  or 
mottled.  The  egg-plant,  according  to  the  l  Hortus 
Kewensis,'  has  been  cultivated  in  England  since  the 
year  1596;  but  it  has  seldom  been  made  use  of  as 


THE    EGG-PLANT.  293 

an  article  of  cookery.  Even  on  the  continent,  where 
the  temperature  agrees  better  with  its  habits,  it  has 
not  so  much  flavour  as  the  love-apple;  but  still  it  is 
used  in  soups  and  stews,  and  also  eaten  sliced  and 
fried  with  oil  or  butter.  Though  the  young  plants 
require  to  be  forwarded  in  a  hot-bed,  they  may  after- 
wards be  made  to  produce  fruit  on  warm  and  shel- 
tered borders;  and  both  they  and  the  love-apple  suc- 
ceed best  when  placed  against  a  sunny  wall. 

Beside  the  white  egg-plant,  (the  Solatium  me- 
longena  of  Linnaeus,)  which  has  been  long  cultivated 
as  a  curiosity,  though  never  used  as  food,  there  are 
several  others;  and  M.  Dunal,  in  his  history  of  So- 
lanums,  has  separated  the  edible  ones,  ot  which  he 
has  enumerated  four  varieties,  into  the  species  of  So- 
lanum  csculentum.  The  round  and  the  long  variety 
of  the  esculent  are  both  cultivated  in  the  garden  of 
the  Horticultural  Society.  The  plants,  which  are  an- 
nuals, are  raised  to  the  height  of  nine  or  ten  inches 
in  the  stove,  and  then  planted  on  the  borders  in  the 
open  air,  where  they  grow  to  the  height  of  between 
two  and  three  feet.  The  fruits  of  both  are  large: 
the  round,  or  rather  oval  (for  that  is  its  proper  shape), 
is  four  inches  long  and  about  three  thick.  This  va- 
riety is  called  the  Mammoth  egg-plant.  The  long  has 
larger  fruit,  measuring  sometimes  as  much  as  eight 
inches  in  length.  They  vary  much  more  in  colour  than 
the  round, — some  of  them  being  streaked  with  yellow. 
Other  varieties  are  described  as  being  found  in 
India  ;  but  the  seeds  that  have  been  sent  to  this 
country  have  produced  fruit  similar  to  the  kinds  now 
mentioned. 

Various  species  of  the  solanum  are  common  in 
the  Levant:  and  three  are  particularly  described  by 
Dr  Walsh  in  the  Horticultural  Transactions.  The 
following  is  the  substance  of  his  communication: — 

Solanum  JEthiopicum  is  the  scarlet  egg-plant,  of 


294  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

which  the  fruit  is  produced  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Constantinople  5  but  it  is  rare,  being  never  sold  in 
the  markets,  and  but  seldom  seen  in  private  gardens. 
It  is  used  as  an  ingredient  in  soups. 

Solanum  Sodomeum  is  a  purple  egg-plant,  of 
which  the  fruit  is  large  and  handsome.  A  species  of 
cynips  often  attacks  and  punctures  the  rind;  upon 
which  the  whole  fruit  gangrenes,  and  is  converted 
into  a  substance  like  ashes,  while  the  outside  is  fair 
and  beautiful.  It  is  found  on  the  borders  of  the  Dead 
Sea,  and  is  that  apple,  the  external  beauty  and  the 
internal  deception  of  which  have  been  so  celebrated 
in  fabulous,  and  so  perplexing  in  true  history. 

"  Dead-Sea  fruits,  that  tempt  the  eye, 
But  turn  to  ashes  on  the  lips." 

The  dreadful  judgment  of  the  cities  of  the  plain, 
recorded  in  sacred  history, — the  desolation  around 
the  Dead  Sea, — the  extreme  saltness  of  its  waters, 
the  bitumen,  and  as  is  reported,  the  smoke  that 
sometimes  issued  from  its  surface, — were  all  calcu- 
lated for  making  it  a  fit  locality  for  superstitious  ter- 
rors ;  and  among  the  rest  were  the  celebrated  apples 
which  are  mentioned  by  Josephus,  the  historian  of 
the  Jews,  not  as  fabulous  matters  of  which  he  had 
been  told,  but  as  real  substances  which  he  had  seen 
with  his  own  eyes.  He  says,  they  "  have  a  fail- 
colour,  as  if  they  were  fit  to  be  eaten;  but  if  you 
pluck  them  with  your  hand,  they  vanish  into  smoke 
and  ashes." 

Milton,  who  collected  all  of  history  or  fable  that 
could  heighten  the  effect  of  his  poem,  refers  to  those 
apples  as  adding  new  anguish  to  the  fallen  angels, 
after  they  had  been  transformed  into  serpents,  upon 
Satan's  return  from  the  temptation  of  man. 


— "  There  stood 


A  grove  hard  by, 

———laden  with  fair  fruit,  like  that 


THE    EGG-PLANT.  295 

Which  grew  in  Paradise,  the  bait  of  Eve, 
Us'd  by  the  Tempter  :  on  that  prospect  strange 
Their  earnest  eyes  they  fix'd,  imagining, 
For  one  forbidden  tree,  a  multitude." 

****** 
"  They,  parched  with  scalding  thirst,  and  hunger  fierce, 

could  not  abstain  ; 

But  on  they  rolled  in  heaps,  and  up  the  trees 
Climbing,  sat  thicker  than  the  snaky  locks 
That  curl'd  Alegaera  :  Greedily  they  pluck'd 
The  fruitage  fair  to  sight,  like  that  which  grew 
Near  that  bituminous  lake  where  Sodom  placed  ; 
This  more  delusive,  not  the  touch  but  taste 
Deceives  ;  they  fondly  thinking  to  allay 
Their  thirst  with  gust,  instead  of  fruit 
Chew'd  bitter  ashes,  which  the  offended  taste 
With  sputtering  noise  rejected." 

Henry  Teonge,  a  chaplain  in  the  English  fleet, 
whose  Diary  was,  a  few  years  since,  published  from 
the  original  manuscript,  so  well  describes  the  real 
condition  of  the  decayed  Solatium  Sodomeum,  which 
he  states  that  he  saw  in  December,  1675,  that  no  one 
can  doubt  that  his  notice  was  founded  upon  personal 
examination.  "  This  country  (that  about  the  Dead 
Sea)  is  altogether  unfruitfull,"  says  he,  "  being  all 
over  full  of  stones,  which  looke  just  like  burnt  syn- 
durs.  And  on  some  low  shrubbs  there  grow  small 
round  things,  which  are  called  apples,  but  no  witt 
like  them.  They  are  somewhat  fayer  to  looke  at,  but 
touch  them  and  they  moulder  all  to  black  ashes,  like 
soote,  boath  for  looks  and  smell."  Though  these  are 
only  the  remarks  of  a  popular  observer,  who  told 
what  he  saw,  without  any  view  to  a  scientific  purpose, 
the  single  addition  of  the  attack  of  the  plant  by  the 
insect,  and  the  subsequent  mortification  and  internal 
drying,  would  have  made  it  just  as  perfect  as  the 
descriptions  of  the  present  day. 

Pocock,  who  travelled  more  than  fifty  years  after 
Teonge,  did  not  see  the  apples;  and  though  he  did 
mention  them,  he  pointed  to  a  plant  very  different 


296          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

from  the  real  one:  "As  for  the  fruits  of  Sodom, 
fair  without  and  full  of  ashes  within,"  says  he,  "  / 
saw  nothing  of  them:  but  from  the  testimony  we 
have,  something  of  the  kind  has  been  produced  ; 
but  I  imagine  they  may  be  pomegranates,  which, 
having  a  tough,  hard  rind,  and  being  left  on  the 
trees  for  two  or  three  years,  the  inside  may  be  dried 
to  dust  and  the  outside  remain  firm."  Mariti,  who 
visited  those  regions  thirty  years  after  Pocock,  men- 
tions that  "No  person  could  point  out  to  me  in  the 
neighbourhood  that  species  of  fruit  called  the  apples 
of  Sodom,  which,  being  fresh  and  of  a  beautiful 
colour  in  appearance,  fall  to  dust  as  soon  as  they  are 
touched."  Hasselquist,  however,  not  only  found  the 
apples,  but  the  plant,  referred  it  to  the  Linnaean 
species  of  Solanum  melongena,  and  pointed  out  the 
cause  of  the  disease;  and  though,  in  the  more  recent 
and  accurate  division  of  the  genus  Solanum,  to  which 
allusion  has  been  made,  the  name  of  Sodomeum  has 
been  substituted  for  that  of  melongena,  the  fruit  and 
the  disease  have  been  proved  to  be  as  Hasselquist 
stated. 

Solanum  melongena  is  more  common  in  the  mar- 
kets of  Constantinople  than  either  of  the  former  sorts, 
being  almost  as  abundant  as  the  gourd  and  the  melon, 
and  used  for  nearly  the  same  purposes.  There  are 
several  varieties  of  this  solanum.  The  first  appear- 
ance of  the  plant,  it  is  said,  is  always  attended  with 
a  north-east  wind  of  some  continuance;  and,  there- 
fore, the  ships  for  the  Black  Sea  sail  before  this 
harbinger,  or  rather  companion,  of  bad  weather 
comes  forth.  This  is  probably  one  of  the  super- 
stitions which  in  all  countries  attach  to  matters  so 
uncertain  as  the  weather. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Stone  fruits.— Peach;  Nectarine;  Almond;  Apricot ;  Plum ;  Cherry ;  OliTe. 


n.  Peach.        b.  Nectarine.        c.  Apricot.        d.  Almond. 

THE  principal  stone  fruits,  that  are  valued  chiefly  as 
fruits,  without  any  reference  to  their  other  qualities, 
are  the  peach  and  nectarine,  which  are  only  varieties 
of  the  same  species,  the  almond,  the  apricot,  the 
plum,  and  the  cherry.  The  first  belong  to  the  Lin- 
naean  genus  Jlmygdalus,  and  the  latter  three  to  that 
of  Primus. 

It  seems  doubtful  whether  the  almond,  however 
different  it  is  in  its  fructification,  is  not  the  same 
species  with  the  peach.  The  identity  of  the  peach 
and  the  nectarine  has  been  fully  established.  Speci- 
mens raised  from  the  stone  have  not  only  borne  fruit, 
having  on  one  part  of  the  tree  the  downy  coat  of  the 

VOL.    II.  8 


298          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

peach,  and  on  another  the  smooth  coat  of  the  necta- 
rine ;  but  they  have  exhibited  varieties  even  closer 
than  that,  for  single  fruits  have  been  produced  with 
the  coat  of  the  peach  on  the  one  side,  and  that  of 
the  nectarine  on  the  other.*  The  identity  of  the 
apricot  and  the  plum  was  also  believed  by  the  elder 
gardeners. 

THE  PEACH  AND  NECTARINE. 

Of  the  Peach  (Jlmygdulm  Persica)  there  are  two 
distinct  varieties,  although  there  be  but  little  differ- 
ence in  the  appearance  of  the  trees,  and  hardly  any 
in  that  of  the  blossoms  :  these  are,  the  peach  with  a 
downy  coat,  and  the  nectarine  with  a  smooth  one. 
Of  what  country  the  peach  actually  is  a  native,  it  is 
impossible  to  ascertain.  From  the  distinctive  name 
Persica,  bestowed  upon  it  by  the  Romans,  it  is  very 
evident,  and  Pliny  expressly  states,  that  they  im- 
po:4ed  the  peach  from  Persia  ;  but  whether  it  was 
indigenous  to  Persia,  or  sent  thither  from  a  country 
still  nearer  the  equator,  we  have  no  information. 
When  growing  in  its  natural  state,  the  peach  is 
rather  a  small  tree,  with  wide  spreading  branches. 
The  flowers  appear  before  the  leaves  ;  they  are  of  a 
very  delicate  colour,  but  of  scarcely  any  scent.  The 
fruit  is  roundish,  with  a  furrow  along  one  side,  and 
having  a  very  delicate  downy  cuticle  when  ripe. 
Peaches  are  distinguished  into  two  classes  ;  those 
which  separate  easily  from  the  stone  or  nut,  and  those 
which  do  not.  The  former  are,  generally  speaking, 
the  best  flavoured,  though  to  that  there  are  excep- 
tions. The  varieties  of  the  peach  are  exceedingly 
numerous,  but  of  late  years  as  many  new  peaches 
have  probably  not  been  introduced  as  there  have 
been  new  varieties  of  some  other  fruits.  There  are 

*  See  Hort.  Trans.,  vol.  i. 


THE  PEACH  AND  NECTARINE.        299 

upwards  of  two  hundred  varieties  inserted  in  the 
Fruit  Catalogue  of  the  Horticultural  Society.  The 
qualities  of  the  peach  appear  to  depend  a  good  deal 
upon  the  soil  and  climate  in  which  it  has  for  a  con- 
siderable time  been  cultivated;  and  the  soil  in  which 
the  tree  is  immediately  planted  should  neither  be  too 
rich  nor  too  poor, — the  former  causing  the  trees  to 
make  too  much  wood,  and  the  latter  making  the  fruit 
hard  and  deficient  in  flavour. 

Of  the  history  of  the  nectarine  as  little  is  known 
as  that  of  the  peach  ;  neither  is  it  ascertained 
which  of  them  was  the  variety  first  cultivated.  De- 
licious as  the  peach  is,  the  nectarine,  when  of  a  good 
sort,  and  properly  cultivated,  is  superior  to  it ;  and 
though  it  wants  the  lusciousness  of  some  of  the 
tropical  fruits,  perhaps  few  vegetable  productions  are 
more  grateful  to  the  palate  even  of  the  epicure. 

In  the  warmer  parts  of  Asia  the  peach  is  very 
generally  cultivated,  and  in  many  it  grows  abun- 
dantly without  culture. 

On  some  parts  of  the  American  continent  also, 
the  peach  grows  readily  and  in  great  plenty.  Capt. 
Head,  in  his  '  Rough  Notes,'  mentions  the  beauty 
and  productiveness  of  the  peach-trees  which  are 
scattered  over  the  corn-fields  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Mendoza,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Andes  ;  and  the 
same  traveller  notices  dried  peaches  as  an  article  of 
food  in  the  mountainous  parts,  to  which  they  must, 
of  course,  be  carried  from  the  plains. 

In  many  parts  of  the  United  States,  peach-trees 
grow  in  extensive  plantations.  They  continue  with- 
out culture  ;  and  the  fruit  is  of  little  value,  except  in 
the  distillation  of  peach  brandy,  and  the  fattening  of 
hogs.  The  following  account  of  the  peach-orchards 
in  the  United  States,  and  of  a  variety  of  peach  which 
the  describer  obtained  from  that  country,  was  com- 


300  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

municated  to  the  Horticultural  Society  in   1815,  by 
Mr.  John  Braddick,  of  Thames  Ditton  : — 

"  Some  years  ago,  when  travelling  through  Mary- 
land, Virginia,  and  the  neighbouring  provinces  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  I  had  an  opportunity 
of  observing  the  mode  in  which  the  peach-trees  of 
those  provinces  were  cultivated,  which  was  invariably 
from  the  stone  of  the  peach,  the  plant  being  never 
budded,  but  always  remaining  in  a  state  of  nature. 
In  the  middle  and  southern  provinces  of  the  United 
States,  it  is  no  uncommon  circumstance  for  a  planter 
to  possess  a  sufficient  number  of  peach-trees  to  pro- 
duce him,  after  fermenting  and  distilling  the  pulp, 
from  fifty  to  one  hundred  gallons  of  peach-brandy  ; 
the  manufacturing  of  this  liquor,  and  the  feeding  of 
hogs,  being  the  principal  uses  to  which  the  peach  is 
applied  in  those  countries.  A  peach-orchard  usually 
contains  a  thousand  or  more  standard  trees.  The 
tree  being  raised  in  the  manner  I  have  detailed,  it  is 
easy  to  conceive  that  the  fruit  growing  on  them  must 
be  an  endless  variety,  scarcely  two  trees  producing 
exactly  alike  ;  and  although  by  far  the  greater  number 
of  trees,  in  any  of  these  orchards,  will  always  be 
found  to  produce  fruit  below  mediocrity  in  point  of 
flavour,  yet  a  judicious  observer  will  never  fail,  among 
so  great  a  number,  to  pick  out  a  few  trees,  the  race 
of  which  may  be  considered  worthy  of  preserving." 

The  peach  is  said  to  have  been  first  cultivated  in 
England  about  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Gerard  describes  several  varieties  of  peach  as  grow- 
ing in  his  garden.  Tusser  mentions  it  among  his 
list  of  fruits  in  1557. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Paris  much  attention  is 
paid  to  the  culture  of  peach-trees  ;  and  the  peaches 
there  are  of  excellent  quality.  The  principal  gardens 
for  the  supply  of  the  French  capital  are  at  Montreuil, 


THE  PEACH  AND  NECTARINE.        301 

a  village  near  Paris;  and  one  tree  there  sometimes 
covers  sixty  feet  of  wall,  from  the  one  extremity  to 
the  other.  The  Montreuil  peaches  are  of  the  finest 
flavour;  and  their  excellence  is  properly  attributed 
to  the  exclusive  attention  of  the  people  to  their  cul- 
ture. The  sub-division  of  labour  and  skill  produces 
the  same  results  in  every  art. 

The  espalier  peaches  of  the  Due  de  Praslin,  near 
Melun,  are  stated  to  be  the  finest  in  Europe.* 

All  the  peaches  have  in  the  kernel  a  flavour  resem- 
bling that  of  noyau,  which  depends  on  the  presence 
of  prussic  or  hydrocyanic  acid.  The  leaves  have  the 
same  flavour,  which  they  impart  by  infusion  either  in 
water  or  in  spirits. 

The  facility  of  raising  the  peach  from  the  stone  has 
probably  tended  to  its  general  diffusion  throughout 
the  world.  This  fruit  has  steadily  followed  the  pro- 
gress of  civilization;  and  man,  "  from  China  to 
Peru,"  has  surrounded  himself  with  the  luxury  of 
this,  and  of  the  other  stone  fruits,  very  soon  after  he 
has  begun  to  taste  the  blessings  of  a  settled  life. 
There  are  still  spots  where  ignorance  prevents  por- 
tions of  the  human  race  from  enjoying  the  blessings 
which  Providence  has  everywhere  ordained  for  in- 
dustry; and  there  are  others  where  tyranny  forbids 
the  earth  to  be  cultivated  and  produce  its  fruits.  The 
inhabitants  of  the  Haouran,  who  are  constantly 
wandering,  to  escape  the  dreadful  exactions  of  some 
petty  tyrant,  have  neither  orchards  nor  fruit-trees, 
nor  gardens  for  the  growth  of  vegetables.  "  Shall  we 
sow  for  strangers?"  was  the  affecting  answer  of  one 
of  them  to  Burckhardt. 

Even  in  the  same  land  there  is  a  striking  contrast 

between  such  scenes  as  Burckhardt  thus  describes, 

and  the  effects  of  a  settled  industry,  proceeding  from 

a  peaceful  security.     Dandini,  in  remarking  the  rich- 

*  Le  Bon  Jardinier,  1829. 

vor.  ii.  8* 


302         VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

ness  of  western  Syria,  observes,  "  that  it  is  to  an 
industry  less  harassed  by  predatory  encroachments 
than  that  of  any  other  part  of  Syria,  that  the  hills 
of  Lebanon  owe  those  fine  terraces,  in  long  suc- 
cession, which  preserve  the  fertile  earth;  those  well- 
planted  vineyards;  those  fields  of  wheat,  raised  by 
the  industrious  hand  of  the  husbandman;  those  plan- 
tations of  cotton,  of  olives,  and  of  mulberries,  which 
present  themselves  everywhere  in  the  midst  of  the 
rocky  steeps,  and  give  a  pleasing  example  of  the 
effects  of  human  activity.  The  clusters  of  grapes 
are  enormous,  and  the  grapes  themselves  as  large  as 
cherries." 

One  of  the  greatest  blessings  that  can  be  conferred 
upon  any  rude  people  (and  it  is  a  blessing  which 
will  bring  knowledge,  and  virtue,  and  peace,  in  its 
train)  is  to  teach  them  how  to  cultivate  those  vege- 
table productions  which  constitute  the  best  riches  of 
mankind.  The  traveller  Burchell  rendered  such  a 
service  to  the  Bachapins,  a  tribe  of  the  interior  of 
Southern  Africa.  He  gave  to  their  chief  a  bag  of 
fresh  peach  stones,  in  quantity  about  a  quart;  "nor 
did  I  fail,"  says  the  benevolent  visitor  of  these  poor 
people,  "  to  impress  on  his  mind  a  just  idea  of  their 
value  and  nature,  by  telling  him  that  they  would  pro- 
duce trees  which  would  continue  every  year  to  yield, 
without  further  trouble,  abundance  of  large  fruit  of  a 
more  agreeable  flavour  than  any  which  grew  in  the 
country  of  the  Bachapins."  This  is  an  interesting 
example  of  how  much  good  a  right-minded  and 
active  individual  may  do  to  his  humbler  brethren  of 
the  human  family.  "  Why  have  not  every  where 
the  names  been  preserved,"  says  Humboldt,  "  of 
those  who,  in  place  of  ravaging  the  earth,  have  en- 
riched it  with  plants  useful  to  the  human  race?" 
It  is  satisfactory  to  observe,  however,  that  when  men 
are  highly  civilized,  there  is  an  elasticity  in  their 


THE  PEACH  AND  NECTARINE.        303 

mental  energies,  which  makes  the  destruction  of 
tyranny  and  war  of  less  permanent  injury  than 
when  their  inflictions  fall  upon  a  rude  people. 
Sickler,  a  distinguished  naturalist  of  Germany,  who 
has  paid  particular  attention  to  the  cultivation  of 
fruit  trees,  had,  in  the  Duchy  of  Saxe  Gotha, 
formed  three  nurseries  for  fruit  trees,  one  of  which 
contained  eight  thousand  grafted  plants.  In  1806, 
this  nursery  was  entirely  destroyed  by  the  French, 
after  the  battle  of  Jena:  Ney's  corps  bivouacked  in 
it.  After  the  battle  of  Leipsic,  in  1814,  another 
nursery,  planted  by  the  same  eminent  man,  was 
destroyed  by  the  Cossacks.  Yet  in  1817  he  had 
planted  and  reared  a  third  nursery  with  his  own 
hand, — persevering,  in  spite  of  the  injuries  which  he 
had  received  in  these  dreadful  contests,  to  distribute 
his  fine  plants,  and  the  knowledge  of  their  cultiva- 
tion, over  his  native  country.*  The  labours  of  such  a 
man  will  endure  when  the  fame  of  conquerors  is  for- 
gotten, or  thought  worthless,  or  only  remembered  to 
be  hated  as  it  deserves. 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  some  doubts  exist 
as  to  the  difference  between  the  peach  and  the  almond 
being  more  than  apparent.  With  reference  to  this 
subject,  there  is  a  curious  fact  recorded  by  the  Pre- 
sident of  the  Horticultural  Society.  The  fruit  of  a 
sweet  almond-tree,  which  had  been  obtained  from 
an  almond  kernel,  that  had,  when  in  flower,  been 
impregnated  with  peach  pollen,  was  sown,  and 
produced  a  tree;  this  tree  bore  eight  peaches,  some 
of  which  were  perfect,  and  the  others  burst  at  the 
centre  when  ripe,  as  is  the  case  with  almonds.  The 
peaches  were  finely  formed  and  coloured;  the  flesh 
white,  soft,  melting,  and  of  good  flavour.  This  ex- 
periment is  curious;  for  though  it  does  not  com- 
pletely establish  the  fact  of  the  convertibility  of  an 

*  See  an  interesting  memoir  of  Sickler  in  the  Hort.  Trans. 


304  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

almond  into  a  peach,  it  does  so  in  great  part,  by 
shewing  that  only  the  pollen  is  necessary  to  effect 
such  a  change. 

The  Flat  Peach  of  China  is  perhaps  the  most  sin- 
gular of  the  peach  tribe.  The  size  of  it  resembles 
that  of  the  apple;  and  the  stalk  and  eye  approach 
so  near  as  to  give  it  the  appearance  of  a  ring  of  flesh, 
with  a  stone  in  the  middle.  The  following  descrip- 
tion accompanied  specimens  presented  to  the  Horti- 
cultural Society  by  Mr.  Braddick: — 

"  This  fruit  is  of  truly  singular  form,  and  perhaps 
will  be  best  described  as  having  the  appearance  of  a 
peach  flattened  by  pressure  at  the  head  and  stalk ;  its 
upright  diameter,  taken  through  the  centre,  from  eye 
to  stalk,  being  eleven  sixteenths  of  an  inch,  consisting 
wholly  of  the  stone,  except  the  skin;  that  of  its  sides 
is  one  inch  and  one-eighth,  its  transverse  diameter 
being  two  inches  and  a  half.  The  head  of  the  fruit 
is  crooked  in  such  a  manner,  as  to  look  like  a  broad 
and  rather  hollow  eye  of  an  irre'gular  and  five-angled 
(or  lobed)  shape,  surrounded  by  the  appearance  of 
the  remains  of  the  leaves  of  a  calyx:  the  whole  sur- 
face of  this  eye  is  roughlyjmarked  with  small  irregular 
warted  lines,  like  the  crown  of  a  medlar.  The  colour 
of  the  skin  of  the  fruit  is  pale  yellow,  mottled,  or 
rather  speckled  with  red  on  the  part  exposed  to  the 
sun,  and  covered  with  a  fine  down.  The  flesh  is 
pale  yellow,  having  a  beautiful  radiated  circle  of  fine 
red  surrounding  the  stone,  and  extending  far  into  the 
fruit.  The  stone  is  flatly  compressed,  small,  rough, 
and  irregular.  The  consistence  and  flavour  of  the 
flesh  is  that  of  a  good  melting  peach,  being  sweet 
and  juicy,  with  a  little  noyau  flavour,  or  bitter  aroma. 
This  peach  is  cultivated  in  China,  representations  o* 
it  being  continually  seen  on  the  papers  and  drawings 
received  from  that  country;  and  it  is  well  known  at 
Canton,  where  it  is  esteemed  as  a  good  fruit." 


THE    ALMOND.  805 

The  Almond-tree  has  a  considerable  resemblance 
to  the  peach  in  the  form  of  its  leaves,  and  of  its 
blossoms,  only  the  latter  are  more  variable  in  colour. 
It  is  probable  that  the  almond  is  a  native  of  the 
western  parts  of  Asia.  The  almond  is  mentioned  in 
the  Scriptures  as  amongst  the  best  fruits  of  the  land 
of  Canaan.  It  is  very  plentiful  in  China,  in  most  of 
the  eastern  countries,  and  also  in  Barbary.  In  that 
country  it  is  the  most  early  bearer  of  all  the  fruit 
trees.  It  flowers  in  January,  and  gives  its  fruit  in 
April.*  It  does  not  appear  that  the  almond-tree 
(which  is  now  abundantly  cultivated  for  its  fruit  in 
Italy,  Spain,  and  the  south  of  France)  was  so  early 
introduced  into  the  first  of  these  countries  as  the 
peach,  or  that  its  native  region  was  so  well  known, 
"  Greek  nuts"  being  the  name  given  to  almonds  at 
Rome  in  the  time  of  Cato. 

The  fruit  of  the  almond  is  not  so  attractive  as  that 
of  the  peach  ;  because,  instead  of  presenting  the 
same  delicious  pulp  as  that,  the  pericarp  of  the 
almond  shrivels  as  the  fruit  ripens  ;  and  when  the 
ripening  is  completed,  has  become  a  horny  kind  of 
husk,  which  opens  of  its  own  accord.  The  kernel  of 
some  varieties  of  the  almond  is  not  defended  by  so 
tough  a  shell  as  that  of  the  peach  and  nectarine  ; 
for  it  is  often  so  tender  that  the  nuts  break  when 
shaken  together. 

In  the  south  of  Europe,  where  the  almond  is  culti- 
vated with  as  much  care  as  the  peach  is  in  this 
country,  its  varieties  are  carefully  distinguished.  The 
bitter  and  the  sweet  are  permanently  distinct  varie- 
ties ;  and  after  this  leading  character  is  observed,  the 
variety  is  further  distinguished  by  the  form  and  de- 
gree of  hardness  of  the  shell.  For  instance,  the 
French  have,  "  amandier  a  coque  dure" — "  amandier 
a  coque  demi-dure" — "  amandier  a  coque  tendre." 
*  Shaw's  Travels. 


306         VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

In  England,  almond-trees  are  chiefly  cultivated  for 
the  beauty  of  their  early  flowers ;  and  for  this  reason, 
the  common  kind,  and  the  double-flowering  dwarfs, 
are  preferred.  There  is  something  very  charming  in 
the  peculiarity  which  belongs  to  this  tree,  of  blossom- 
ing on  the  bare  branches: 

"  The  hope,  in  dreams,  of  a  happier  hour, 

That  alights  on  misery's  brow, 
Springs  out  of  the  silvery  almond-flower, 
That  blooms  on  a  leafless  bough."* 

One  of  the  most  beautiful  tales  of  the  Greek  my- 
thology (that  of  the  Loves  of  Phillis  and  Demo- 
phoon)  is  founded  on  this  property  of  the  almond- 
tree. 

Almond-trees  ripen  their  fruit  in  England,  though 
the  produce  is  very  inferior  to  that  which  is  im- 
ported. The  flowers  of  the  productive  almond, 
both  the  sweet  and  the  bitter,  are  much  less  showy 
than  those  of  the  unproductive.  Like  most  of 
the  other  nut  bearing  trees,  the  almond  yields  an 
oil.  Between  the  expressed  oil  of  bitter,  and  that 
of  sweet  almonds,  there  is  little  difference  ;  but 
the  bitter  almond  contains  an  essential  oil,  while 
the  sweet  almond  has  none.  Owing  to  the  prussic 
acid  which  it  contains,  this  essential  oil  is  found,  by 
experiment,  to  be  exceedingly  poisonous  ;  and  there- 
fore the  use  of  bitter  almonds  should  be  carefully 
avoided  in  every  instance  where  there  is  a  chance 
that  the  essential  oil  may  be  separated  in  the  stomach. 
So  very  violent  is  the  poison  of  this  oil,  that  instances 
are  recorded  of  persons  dying  in  consequence  of 
drinking  even  a  very  small  portion  of  spirits  flavoured 
by  it  ;  and,  in  its  concentrated  state,  it  is  probably 
not  exceeded,  in  its  hurtful  effects,  even  by  the  essen- 
tial oil  of  tobacco  itself,  or  by  any  of  the  narcotic 
vegetable  poisons. 

*  Moore, 


THE   APRICOT.  307 

According  to  Haller  (Hist.  Plant.},  bitter  almonds 
are  a  poison  to  birds  and  quadrupeds. 

Almond  oil  (the  expressed  oil)  is  principally  ob- 
tained from  the  almonds  of  Valentia  and  Barbary  ; 
the  Syrian  almonds,  usually  called  Jordan  almonds, 
being  preferred  for  the  table. 

The  Large  Fruited  Almond  (var.  vnacrocarpa) 
is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  varieties  of  the  almond. 
The  flowers  are  twice  as  large  as  those  of  the  common 
sort,  and  remain  longer  in  perfection  :  the  fruit  also 
is  larger.  There  is  a  specimen  in  the  garden  of  the 
Horticultural  Society,  which  has  been  figured  and 
described  by  Mr.  Lindley  in  the  Botanical  Register  ; 
who  remarks,  that  this  almond  is  "increased  by 
budding  upon  plums  and  other  drupaceous  plants." 

About  four  hundred  and  fifty  tons  of  almonds  are 
annually  imported  into  Great  Britain,  paying  a  duty 
of  £18,000. 

THE  APRICOT — Primus  Jlrmemaca. 

The  apricot  belongs  to  a  very  numerous  genus  of 
fruit-bearing  trees,  and  trees  which  are  a  good  deal 
different  in  their  characters.  The  genus  Prunus  com- 
prises all  the  varieties  of  the  cherry,  the  laurels  pro- 
perly so  called,  the  plums,  the  sloe,  and  a  number 
of  others  that  are  never  cultivated  for  the  sake  of 
their  fruit.  Many  of  the  genus  are  poisonous  ;  and 
though  the  fruit  of  some  of  them  is  agreeable  to  the 
taste,  and  safe  enough  when  taken  in  limited  quan- 
tities, there  is  none  of  the  family  that  can  be  indulged 
in  to  excess  with  impunity.  Columella  says  that  the 
Persians  sent  the  peach  to  Egypt  to  poison  the  in- 
habitants ;  and  a  species  of  apricot  is  called  by  the 
people  of  Barbary,  '  matza  Franca,'  or  the  killer  of 
Christians.*  All  these  evil  qualities  are,  however, 

*  Shaw. 


308  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

destroyed  by  cultivation  ;  for  it  is  the  privilege  of 
man  not  only  to  distinguish  between  the  good  and 
evil  properties  of  vegetables,  but  to  eradicate  the  evil, 
in  many  cases,  by  his  skill  and  industry. 

The  apricot  is  very  widely  diffused  in  Asia,  and 
grows  upon  the  slopes  of  the  barren  mountains  west- 
ward of  China.  Many  species  of  it  are  cultivated  ; 
and,  as  they  ripen  earlier  than  the  peach  and  necta- 
rine, they  are  in  considerable  estimation.  Some  va- 
rieties are  exceedingly  delicious  ;  and  the  Persians, 
in  their  figurative  language,  call  the  apricot  of  Iran, 
"  the  seed  of  the  sun." 

It  should  seem  that  the  apricot  was  known  in  Italy 
in  the  time  of  Dioscorides  5  and  that  it  got  its  name 
precocia  from  ripening  earlier  than  some  other  fruits. 
The  modern  Greek  name  ^MVKK»  is  very  like  the 
Arabic  name  benkach.  The  Romans  set  little  value 
upon  the  apricot,  as  appears  by  an  epigram  of 
Martial.  If  the  ancient  name  is  to  be  retained, 
a-precoke,  as  it  used  to  be  styled  by  our  most 
early  writers  on  horticulture,  is  the  classical  appel- 
lation, and  the  modern  apricot  the  vulgarism  or  cor- 
ruption. 

The  apricot  is  said  to  derive  its  scientific  name 
from  its  almost  covering  the  slopes  of  the  Caucasus, 
the  Ararat,  and  the  other  mountains  in  and  about 
Armenia,  up  almost  to  the  margin  of  the  snow. 
The  general  opinion  that  it  is  a  native  of  Armenia 
has,  however,  been  controverted  by  M.  Regnier,  a 
French  naturalist,  who  contends,  that  as  Armenia  is 
a  high  mountainous  country,  the  climate  of  which 
resembles  that  of  middle  Europe,  it  cannot  possibly 
be  the  country  of  a  tree  which  begins  to  flower  so 
early,  that  its  blossoms  are  often  destroyed  by  the 
frost,  notwithstanding  every  care  of  the  cultivator. 
The  apricot,  too,  although  it  has  been  cultivated  in 
Europe  for  many  ages,  never  sprang  up  from  seeds 


THE    PLUM.  309 

in  any  of  our  forests;  neither  has  it  been  found  wild, 
either  in  Armenia  or  any  of  the  neighbouring  pro- 
vinces. M.  Regnier  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  a  native 
of  Africa,  and  that  its  limits  appear  to  be  a  parallel 
between  the  Niger  and  the  range  of  the  Atlas  moun- 
tains, from  whence  it  has,  by  cultivation,  been  carried 
towards  the  north. 

Apricots  are  very  plentiful,  and  in  great  variety,  in 
China;  and  the  natives  employ  them  variously  in  the 
arts.  From  the  wild  tree,  the  pulp  of  whose  fruit  is 
of  little  value,  but.  which  has  a  large  kernel,  they  ex- 
tract an  oil;  they  preserve  the  fruit  wet  in  all  its 
flavour;  and  they  make  lozenges  of  the  clarified 
juice,  which  afford  a  very  agreeable  beverage  when 
dissolved  in  water.  The  apricot  attains  the  size  of 
a  large  tree  in  Japan.  It  also  flourishes  in  such 
abundance  upon  the  Oases  as  to  be  dried  and  car- 
ried to  Egypt  as  an  article  of  commerce.  In  those 
sultry  climates,  the  flavour  is  exquisite,  though  the 
fruit  is  small. 

Gough,  in  his  British  Topography,  states  that  the 
apricot-tree  was  first  brought  to  England,  in  1524, 
by  Woolf,  the  gardener  to  Henry  VIII.  Gerard 
had  two  varieties  hi  his  garden. 

THE  PLUM — Prunus  domestica. 

The  plum  appears  to  be  still  more  widely  diffused 
in  its  original  locality  than  the  apricot;  and  it  is 
much  more  prone  to  run  into  varieties.  It  is  a 
native  of  Asia,  and  of  many  parts  of  Europe;  and 
even  grows  wild  in  the  hedges  in  some  parts  of 
Britain,  though  possibly  it  may  have  found  its  way 
there  from  some  of  the  cultivated  sorts,  and  have  de- 
generated. The  plum,  and  almost  all  its  species,  is 
very  apt  to  run  under  ground,  and  produce  suckers 
from  the  roots.  Duhamel  says  that  if  plums  are 

TOL.    II.  9 


310  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


a.  Plum.          6.  Cherry. 

grafted  low,  and  covered  with  earth,  they  push  out 
shoots  which  may  be  transplanted. 

Plums  of  various  sorts  appear  to  have  been  intro- 
duced into  England  as  early  as  the  fifteenth  century. 
These  varieties  came  to  us  from  France  and  Italy. 
The  "  Green  gage"  is  the  Reine  Claude  of  France,  so 
called  from  having  been  introduced  into  that  country 
by  the  wife  of  Francis  I.  It  is  called  Gage  in  Eng- 
land after  the  name  of  the  family  who  first  cultivated 
it  here.  The  "  Orleans"  probably  came  to  us  when 
we  held  possession  of  that  part  of  France  from  which 
it  takes  its  name.  Lord  Cromwell  introduced  several 
plums  from  Italy,  in  the  time  of  Henry  VII.  The 
damson,  or  damascene,  as  its  name  imports,  is  from 
Damascus. 

In  some  countries,  particularly  in  Alsatia,  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  alchohol  is  produced  from  plums 
and  cherries  by  fermentation.  Dried  plums  form  a 
large  article  of  commerce,  under  the  name  of  prunes 
and  French  plums. 

There  are  nearly  three  hundred  varieties  of  plums, 
many  of  which  are,  perhaps,  only  dissimilar  in  name. 
The  Washington,  a  modern  variety,  which  is  stated 


THE    CHERRY.  311 

in  the  Pomological  Magazine  not  to  be  surpassed  in 
richness  of  flavour,  beauty,  and  other  good  qualities, 
by  any,  is  curious  in  its  origin.  The  parent  tree  was 
purchased  in  the  market  of  New  York,  some  time  in 
the  end  of  last  century.  It  remained  barren  several 
years,  till,  during  a  violent  thunder-storm,  the  whole 
trunk  was  struck  to  the  earth  and  destroyed.  The 
root  afterwards  threw  out  a  number  of  vigorous 
shoots,  all  of  which  were  allowed  to  remain,  and 
finally  produced  fruit.  It  is  therefore,  to  be  pre- 
sumed that  the  stock  of  the  barren  kind  was  the 
parent  of  this.  Trees  were  sent  to  Mr.  Robert 
Barclay,  of  Bury  Hill,  in  1819;  and  in  1821  several 
pthers  were  sent  to  the  Horticultural  Society  by  Dr. 
Hosack. 

THE  CHERRY — Primus  Cerasus. 

The  Cherry  is  a  native  of  most  temperate  coun- 
tries of  the  northern  hemisphere.  The  small  black 
is  found  not  only  in  some  parts  of  England,  but  even 
in  places  among  the  Scottish  mountains,  where  it 
would  be  difficult  to  imagine  them  to  have  been  car- 
ried. It  is  generally  said  that  the  first  of  the  present 
cultivated  sorts  was  introduced  about  the  time  of 
Henry  VIII.,  and  were  originally  planted  at  Sitting- 
bourn,  in  Kent.  The  cherry-orchards  of  Kent  are  still 
celebrated.  It  seems,  however,  that  they  were  known 
much  earlier,  or,  at  any  rate,  that  cherries  were 
hawked  about  London  before  the  middle  of  the  six- 
teenth century,  in  the  very  same  manner  as  at 
present.  The  commencement  of  the  season  was 
announced  by  one  carrying  a  bough  or  twig  loaded 
with  the  fruit.  Our  present  popular  song  of  "  Cherry 
ripe,  ripe  I  cry,"  is  very  slightly  altered  from  Her- 
rick,  a  poet  of  the  times  of  Charles  I.  One  of  our 
old  English  games,  cherry-pit,  consisted  of  pitching 


312          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

cherry  stones  into  a  little  hole: — "  I  have  loved  a 
witch  ever  since  I  played  at  cherry-pit."*  Shak- 
speare  also  alludes  to  the  same  custom. 

The  wild  cherry,  of  which  there  are  a  good  many 
varieties,  is  a  much  more  hardy  tree  than  any  of  those 
that  produce  the  finer  sorts  of  fruit;  and  it  is  there- 
fore much  cultivated  for  stocks  upon  which  to  graft 
the  others,  as  trees  so  grafted  attain  a  larger  size, 
are  more  durable,  and  less  subject  to  disease.  At 
some  of  the  ruined  abbeys  and  baronial  castles  there 
are  found  cherry-trees,  chiefly  black  ones,  which  have 
attained  the  height  of  sixty  or  eighty  feet,  and  con- 
tinue to  produce  great  quantities  of  fruit.  These 
ancient  sorts  are  not  confined  to  the  warmer  parts  of 
the  country,  but  are  met  with  in  some  of  the  northern 
counties  of  Scotland.  Evelyn  ranks  the  black  cherry 
amongst  "  the  forest  berry-bearing  trees,  frequent  in 
the  hedges,  and  growing  wild  in  Herefordshire,  and 
many  places." 

The  cherry  is  generally  understood  to  have  been 
brought  to  Rome  from  Armenia,  by  Lucullus,  the 
conqueror  of  Mithridates.  This  was  about  sixty- 
eight  years  before  the  Christian  era;  and  such  was 
the  fondness  for  the  fruit,  that  Pliny  says,  "  in  less 
than  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  after,  other 
lands  had  cherries,  even  as  far  as  Britain,  beyond  the 
ocean."  The  cherry  is  spread  over  Africa.  In  Bar- 
bary  it  is  called  "  The  Berry  of  the  King."  Des- 
fontaines  (Histoire  des  Arbres}  contends  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  received  opinion,  that  the  wild  cherry  is 
indigenous  to  France,  and  of  equal  antiquity  with 
the  oak;  nor  can  we  help  thinking,  from  the  situa- 
tion in  which  we  have  seen  wild  cherries,  that  the 
same  may  be  the  case  with  parts  of  the  United 
Kingdom. 

*  Witch   of  Edmonton. 


THE    CHERRY.  313 

The  transplantation  of  fruit-trees  from  one  distant 
locality  to  another  has  been  employed  by  Hume  as 
an  argument  to  prove  "  the  youth,  or  rather  infancy 
of  the  world,"  in  opposition  to  the  opinions  of  those 
who  maintain  that  this  earth  has  existed,  in  its  pre- 
sent condition,  from  countless  ages: — 

"  Lucullus  was  the  first  that  brought  cherry-trees 
from  Asia  to  Europe;  though  that  tree  thrives  so 
well  in  many  European  climates,  that  it  grows  in  the 
woods  without  any  culture.  Is  it  possible,  that, 
throughout  a  whole  eternity,  no  European  had  ever 
passed  into  Asia,  and  thought  of  transplanting  so 
delicious  a  fruit  into  his  own  country?  Or  if  the 
tree  was  once  transplanted  and  propagated,  how 
could  it  ever  afterwards  perish  ?  Empires  may  rise 
and  lall  ;  liberty  and  slavery  succeed  alternately; 
ignorance  and  knowledge  give  place  to  each  other; 
but  the  cherry-tree  will  still  remain  in  the  woods  of 
Greece,  Spain,  and  Italy,  and  will  never  be  affected 
by  the  revolutions  of  human  society. 

"It  is  not  two  thousand  years  since  vines  were 
transplanted  into  France;  though  there  is  no  climate 
in  the  world  more  favourable  to  them.  It  is  not  three 
centuries  since  horses,  cows,  sheep,  swine,  dogs, 
corn,  were  known  in  America.  Is  it  possible,  that, 
during  the  revolutions  of  a  whole  eternity,  there 
never  arose  a  Columbus,  who  might  open  the  com- 
munication between  Europe  and  that  continent  ?  We 
may  as  well  imagine  that  all  men  would  wear  stock- 
ings for  ten  thousand  years,  and  never  have  the  sense 
to  think  of  garters  to  tie  them.  All  these  seem  con- 
vincing proofs  of  the  youth,  or  rather,  infancy,  of  the 
world;  as  being  founded  on  the  operation  of  princi- 
ples more  constant  and  steady  than  those  by  which 
human  society  is  governed  and  directed.  Nothing 
less  than  a  total  convulsion  of  the  elements  will  ever 

VOL.    II.  9* 


314        VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

destroy  all  the  European  animals  and  vegetables 
which  are  now  to  be  found  in  the  western  world." 

Several  liqueurs  are  manufactured  from  cherries. 
A  large  black  cherry  (Merise  noire)  is  used  in  the 
composition  of  the  Ratafia  of  Grenoble  ;  and  the 
Maraschino  of  Zera  is  prepared  from  a  particular 
species  of  cherry  cultivated  in  Dalmatia.  Kirsch- 
wasser,  which  is  a  cheap  spirit,  forming  a  consider- 
able article  of  commerce,  is  the  fermented  liquor  of  a 
small  black  cherry. 

The  whole  of  the  genus  Prunus  yield  what  is 
commonly  called  gum;  that  of  the  cherry-tree  being 
the  best.  But  this  substance,  which  is  called  cerassin, 
resembles  tragacanth,  (the  gum  of  the  Astragalus,} 
and  is  therefore  improperly  called  gum,  as  the  term 
is  usually  understood,  and  applied  to  gum  Arabic. 

There  are  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  varieties  of 
cherries  cultivated  in  England. 

The  Chinese  cherry  (Prunus  pseudo-cerasus)  is  a 
valuable  new  species  of  that  fruit,  introduced  into 
this  country  so  recently  as  1819.  The  following  is 
an  extract  from  the  account  of  this  variety,  presented 
to  the  Horticultural  Society  by  Mr.  Knight,  their 
President : — 

"  I  received  a  plant  of  the  Chinese  cherry  from  the 
garden  of  the  Horticultural  Society  in  the  summer  of 
1824,  after  it  had  produced  its  crop  of  fruit;  and  it 
was  preserved  under  glass,  and  subjected  to  a  slight 
degree  of  artificial  heat  till  the  autumn  of  that  year. 
It  appeared  very  little  disposed  to  grow;  but  pro- 
duced one  young  shoot,  which  afforded  me  a  couple 
of  buds  for  insertion  in  stocks  of  the  common  cherry. 
Soon  after  Christmas,  the  tree  was  placed  in  a  pine- 
stove,  where  it  presently  blossomed  abundantly,  and 
its  fruit  set  perfectly  well,  as  it  had  previously  done 


THE    CHERRY. 


315 


in  the  gardens  of  the  Society,  and  it  ripened  in  March. 
The  cherries  where  middle-sized,  or  rather  small  com- 
pared with  the  larger  varieties  of  the  common  cherry; 
were  of  a  reddish  amber  colour,  very  sweet  and  juicy, 
and  excellent  for  the  season  in  which  they  ripened. 
The  roots  of  the  tree  were  confined  to  rather  a  small 
pot,  and  the  plant  was  not  even  in  a  moderately 
vigorous  state  of  growth.  I,  therefore,  infer  that  the 
fruit  did  not  acquire  either  the  size  or  state  of  per- 
fection which  it  would  have  attained  if  the  tree  had 
been  larger,  and  in  a  vigorous  state  of  growth,  and 
the  season  of  the  year  favourable." 


THE  OLIVE — Oka. 

The  Olive  is  a  stone  fruit,  or  rather  a  double-celled 
nut,  covered  by  a  fleshy  pericarpium. 

There  is  something  peculiarly  mild  and  graceful 
in  the  appearance  of  the  olive-tree,  even  apart 
from  its  associations.  The  leaves  bear  some  re- 
semblance to  those  of  the  willow,  only  they  are 


316.  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

)    V 

-  mor^goft  and  delicate.  The  flowers  are  as  delicate 
as  the  leaves:  they  come  in  little  spikes  from  buds 
between  the  leaf-stalks  and  the  spikes.  At  first  they 
are  of  a  pale  yellow;  but  when  they  expand  their 
four  petals,  the  insides  of  them  are  white,  and  only 
the  centre  of  the  flower  yellow.  The  matured  wood 
of  the  olive  is  hard  and  compact,  though  rather 
brittle,  and  has  the  pith  nearly  obliterated,  as  is  the 
case  with  box.  Its  colour  is  reddish,  and  it  takes  a 
fine  gloss;  on  which  account  the  ancients  carved  it 
into  statues  of  the  gods;  the  moderns  make  it  into 
snuff-boxes  and  other  trinkets. 

The  wild  olive  is  found  indigenous  in  Syria,  Greece, 
and  Africa,  on  the  lower  slopes  of  the  Atlas.  The 
cultivated  one  grows  spontaneously  in  many  parts  of 
Syria;  and  is  easily  reared  in  all  parts  of  the  shores 
of  the  Levant  that  are  not  apt  to  be  visited  by  frosty 
winds.  Where  olives  abound  they  give  much  beauty 
to  the  landscape.  "  The  beautiful  plain  of  Athens, 
as  seen  toward  the  north-west  from  Mount  Hymettus, 
appears  entirely  covered  with  olive-trees.  "*  Tuscany, 
the  south  of  France,  and  the  plains  of  Spain,  are  the 
places  of  Europe  in  which  the  olive  was  fiist  culti- 
vated. The  Tuscans  were  the  first  who  exported 
olive-oil  largely,  and  thus  it  has  obtained  the  name 
of  Florence-oil;  but  the  purest  is  said  to  be  obtained 
from  about  Aix,  in  France. 

The  particular  departments  of  France  in  which  the 
olive  is  most  successfully  cultivated  are  those  of  the 
Mouths  of  the  Rhone,  of  the  Var,  of  the  Gard,  and 
some  others;  but  it  does  not  ripen  its  fruit  to  the 
north-west  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  Pyrenees,  near 
Narbonne,  to  the  foot  of  the  little  St.  Bernard  in  the 
Alps;  or  in  that  part  of  France  which  may  be  con- 
sidered as  forming  a  portion  of  the  basin  of  the 

*  Olivier, 


THE    OLIVE.  31? 

Mediterranean,  and  which  is  inclosed  between  that 
sea  and  the  mountains  of  Cevennes  and  the  Alps. 

The  proper  time  for  gathering  olives  for  the  press* 
is  the  eve  of  maturity.  If  delayed  too  long,  the  next 
crop  is  prevented,  and  the  tree  is  productive  only  in 
the  alternate  years.  At  Aix,  where  the  olive  harvest 
takes  place  early  in  November,  it  is  annual:  in 
Languedoc,  Spain,  and  Italy,  where  it  is  delayed  till 
December  or  January,  it  is  in  alternate  years.  The 
quality  of  the  oil,  also,  depends  upon  the  gathering 
of  the  fruit  in  the  first  stage  of  its  maturity.  It  should 
be  carefully  plucked  by  the  hand;  and  the  whole 
harvest  completed,  if  possible,  in  a  day.  To  concoct 
the  mucilage,  and  allow  the  water  to  evaporate,  it  is 
spread  out,  during  two  or  three  days,  in  beds  three 
inches  deep.  The  oil  mill  is  simple.  The  fruit  is 
reduced  to  a  pulp,  put  into  sacks  of  course  linen,  or 
feather-grass,  and  subjected  to  pressure.  The  oil 
first  expressed  is  the  purest.  The  oil  of  the  kernel 
is  said  to  injure  that  of  the  fruit,  and  cause  it  to  be- 
come sooner  rancid.  The  growth  of  olives  and  the 
manufacture  of  the  oil  offer  a  considerable  employment 
to  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  France  and  Italy.  The 
importation  of  olive  oil  into  Great  Britain  amounted, 
in  1827,  to  about  four  thousand  five  hundred  tuns, 
paying  a  duty  of  eight  guineas  per  tun. 

The  olive  grows  in  England;  though,  in  the  seve- 
rity of  our  winters,  it  changes  its  character.  In  the 
south,  it  is  an  evergreen;  but  in  England,  it  loses  its 
leaves.  Indeed,  it  needs  protection  even  in  the  mildest 
winters;  and  it  is  only  in  the  very  warmest  summers 
that  it  will  produce  fruit  a  little,  which  does  not  ripen, 
and  is  of  very  slight  flavour. 

In  ancient  times,  especially,  the  olive  was  a  tree 
held  in  the  greatest  veneration,  for  then  the  oil  was 

*  Hillhousa  on  the  Olive  Tree. 


318  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

employed  in  pouring  out  libations  to  the  gods; 
while  the  branches  formed  the  wreaths  of  the  victors 
at  the  Olympic  Games.  It  was  also  used  in  lubri- 
cating the  human  body.  Some  of  the  traditions  say 
that  it  was  brought  out  of  Egypt  to  Athens  by  Ce- 
crops;  while  others  affirm  that  Hercules  introduced 
it  to  Greece  on  his  return  from  his  expeditions; 
that  he  planted  it  upon  Mount  Olympus,  and  set  the 
first  example  of  its  use  in  the  Games.  The  Greeks 
had  a  pretty  and  instructive  fable  in  their  mythology, 
on  the  origin  of  the  olive.  They  said  that  Neptune, 
having  a  dispute  with  Minerva,  as  to  the  name  of  the 
city  of  Athens,  it  was  decided  by  the  gods  that  the 
deity  who  gave  the  best  present  to  mankind  should 
have  the  privilege  in  dispute.  Neptune  struck  the 
shore,  out  of  which  sprung  a  horse:  but  Minerva  pro- 
duced an  olive  tree.  The  goddess  had  the  triumph ;  for 
it  was  adjudged  that  Peace,  of  which  the  olive  is  the 
symbol,  was  infinitely  better  than  War,  to  which  the 
horse  was  considered  as  belonging,  and  typifying. 
Even  in  the  sacred  history,  the  olive  is  invested  with 
more  honour  than  any  other  tree.  The  patriarch 
Noah  had  sent  out  a  dove  from  the  ark,  but  she  re- 
turned without  any  token  of  hope.  Then  "  He  stayed 
yet  other  seven  days;  and  again  he  sent  forth  the  dove 
out  of  the  ark;  and  the  dove  came  to  him  in  the 
evening;  and,  lo,  in  her  mouth  was  an  olive  branch 
plucked  off:  so  Noah  knew ,  that  the  waters  were 
abated  from  the  earth." 

The  veneration  for  the  olive,  and  also  the  great 
duration  of  the  tree,  appears  from  the  history  of  one 
in  the  Acropolis  at  Athens.  Dr.  Clarke  has  this  pas- 
sage in  his  Travels,*  in  speaking  of  the  temple  of 
Pandrosus — "  Within  this  building,  so  late  as  the 
second  century,  was  preserved  the  olive  tree  mentioned 

*  Vol.  vi.  p,  246. 


THE    OLIVE.  319 

by  Apollodorus,  which  was  said  to  be  as  old  as  the 
foundation  of  the  citadel.  Stuart  supposed  it  to  have 
stood  in  the  portico  of  the  temple  of  Pandrosus 
(called  by  him  the  Pandroseum)  from  the  circum- 
stance of  the  air  necessary  for  its  support,  which  could 
here  be  admitted  between  the  caryatides;  but  instances 
of  trees,  that  have  been  preserved  to  a  very  great  age, 
within  the  interior  of  an  edifice  inclosed  by  walls, 
may  be  adduced." 

The  province  of  Suse,  in  Morocco,  produces  great 
abundance  of  olive  oil,  which  is  stated  to  be  equal  in 
quality  to  the  best  Florence  oil,  when  it  is  expressed 
from  the  fruit  before  it  becomes  quite  ripe.  Mr. 
Jackson,  in  his  '  Account  of  the  Empire  of  Morocco,' 
mentions  a  curious  circumstance  regarding  an  exten- 
sive plantation  of  olive-trees  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Messa,  which  indicates  the  great  facility  with  which 
this  tree  may  be  propagated.  Being  struck  with  the 
whimsical  arrangement  of  this  large  plantation,  he 
inquired  the  cause  of  their  being  so  arranged,  which 
was  thus  explained: — "  I  learnt  from  the  viceroy's 
aide-de-camp,  who  attended  me,  that  one  of  the  kings 
of  the  dynasty  of  Saddia,  being  on  his  journey  to 
Soudan,  encamped  here  with  his  army;  that  the  pegs 
with  which  the  cavalry  picketed  their  horses  were 
cut  from  the  olive  trees  in  the  neighbourhood;  and 
that  these  pegs  being  left  in  the  ground  on  account  of 
some  sudden  cause  of  the  departure  of  the  army,  the 
olive  trees  in  question  sprung  up  from  them.  I  con- 
fess, while  I  acknowledged  the  ingenuity  of  the  idea, 
(for  the  disposition  of  the  trees  exactly  resembled  the 
arrangement  of  cavalry  in  an  encampment),  I  treated 
it  as  fabulous:  some  time  afterwards,  however,  the 
following  circumstance  occurred,  which  induced  me 
to  think  the  story  was  not  only  plausible,  but  very 
credible.  Having  occasion  to  send  for  some  plants 
for  a  garden  which  I  had  at  Agadeer,  or  Santa  Cruz, 


320  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

the  foulah  (gardener)  brought,  amongst  other  things, 
a  few  bits  of  wood,  without  any  roots  or  leaf,  about 
eighteen  inches  long  and  three  in  circumference ,  which 
he  with  a  large  stone  knocked  into  the  ground.  See- 
ing the  fellow  thus  employed,  I  asked  him  what  he 
meant  by  trifling  in  that  way?  '  I  am  not  trifling,' 
said  he,  l  but  planting  your  pomegranate  trees.'  I 
began  to  take  them  out  of  the  ground;  but  some 
persons  who  were  near  assuring  me  that  it  was  the 
mode  in  which  they  were  always  planted,  and  that 
they  would  (with  the  blessing  of  God)  take  root  and 
shoot  forth  leaves  the  next  year,  I  was  at  length  pre- 
vailed on  to  leave  a  few  in  the  ground,  merely  for 
experiment; — and  they  certainly  did  take  root,  and 
were  in  a  fair  way  of  becoming  good  trees  when  I 
left  Santa  Cruz." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Nuts.— Walnut ;  Chesnut ;  Hazel-Nut. 


a.  Walnut.        6.  Chesnut.        c.  Hazel-nut. 

NUTS,  properly  so  called,  are  hard  dry  fruits,  contain- 
ing one  or  two  seeds,  and  not  in  any  degree  fleshy  or 
pulpy.  They  are  often  surrounded  by  a  leafy  or 
woody  husk,  which  is  called  the  involucre,  enlarged 
as  a  covering  to  the  fruit.  The  kernels  of  all  the 
esculent  nuts  are  considered  as  being  very  nutritious, 
on  account  of  the  quantity  of  oil  that  they  contain  ; 
but  on  that  account  they  are  less  digestible  than  any 
other  vegetable  matters.  As  some  of  the  principal 
kinds  have  been  already  described  with  considerable 
minuteness  as  trees,  a  very  brief  account  of  such  will 
be  given. 

THE  WALNUT — Juglans  regia. 

The  nuts  of  this  tree  have,  when  perfectly  ripe,  a 
very  agreeable  flavour;  and  the  tree  being  besides 
VOL.  ii.  10 


322  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

exceedingly  valuable  as  timber,  and  highly  orna- 
mental, it  is  well  worthy  of  cultivation.  In  this 
respect  its  properties  are  fully  noticed  in  the  pre- 
ceding part  on  '  Timber  Trees.'  The  walnuts  of 
commerce  are  many  of  them  obtained  from  warmer 
countries  ;  but  were  sufficient  attention  paid  to 
walnut  plantations,  an  abundant  supply  might  be 
obtained  in  all  the  southern  parts  of  England.  In 
some  parts  of  Scotland  walnuts  come  to  maturity, 
but  they  are  by  no  means  general.  In  the  unripe 
state,  walnuts  make  an  agreeable  pickle;  and  an  in- 
delible olive  dye  is  obtained  from  the  pericarp  of  the 
ripe  fruit.  The  nut  of  the  hickery  (Juglans  «/6a)  is 
small  and  of  little  value;  and  though  the  nut  of  the 
black  walnut  ot  Virginia  (Juglans  nigra)  is  large,  the 
kernel  is  very  small.  It  is,  however,  sweet. 

Walnuts  or  chesnuts  may  be  preserved  through  the 
winter,  by  pitting  them  in  the  earth,  as  is  done  with 
potatoes. 

THE  CHESNUT — Castanea  vesca. 

The  chesnut  has  a  prickly  involucre,  and  the  nuts 
grow  in  a  lengthened  cluster,  upon  twigs.  The  ker- 
nel is  large,  and  enveloped  in  a  tough  coat  of  a  tint 
so  peculiar,  as  to  give  its  name  to  a  particular  kind 
of  colour.  When  raw,  the  chesnut  has  a  slight  trace 
of  walnut  taste;  but  it  is  much  inferior.  Roasted,  it 
becomes  farinaceous,  and  resembles  a  mealy  potatoe. 
The  chesnut  is,  indeed,  the  most  farinaceous,  and  the 
least  oily,  of  all  the  nuts;  and  therefore,  though  it 
may  not  be  so  nutritious,  it  is  more  easy  of  digestion. 

In  the  southern  parts  of  the  Continent,  chesnuts 
grow  so  abundantly  as  to  form  a  very  large  portion 
of  the  food  of  the  common  people,  who,  besides 
eating  them  both  raw  and  roasted,  form  them  into 
puddings  and  cakes,  and  even  bread.  The  chesnut 
produces  abundantly  in  the  warmer  parts  of  England; 


THE    CHESNUT.  323 

but  though  the  tree  grows  in  Scotland,  the  fruit  sel- 
dom comes  to  maturity  there. 

The  best  kinds  of  chesriuts  are  grafted.  The  late 
Sir  Joseph  Banks  had  some  brought  from  Devonshire 
to  his  house  at  Spring  Grove,  which  bore  most  plen- 
tifully: the  fruit  was  smaller  than  the  Spanish  ches- 
nut,  but  much  sweeter. 

THE  HAZEL-NUT — Corylus. 

Of  this  nut  there  are  several  species  and  varieties. 

The  common  hazel  (  Corylus  avcllana)  has  the  nut 
small  and  short;  but  the  tree  grows  more  easily  than 
the  filbert,  being  found  wild  not  only  in  forests  and 
commons  in  England,  and  especially  upon  the  banks 
of  dingles  and  ravines,  but  occuring  in  extensive 
tracts  in  the  more  northern  and  mountainous  parts 
of  the  country.  Several  places,  whose  soil  suits  its 
growth,  are  called  after  the  hazel, — such  as  Hasel- 
mere,  Haselbur,  &c.  The  common  hazel  is  seldom 
cultivated  as  a  fruit-tree,  though  perhaps  its  nuts  are 
superior  in  flavour  to  the  others,  which  are  more 
inviting  in  size. 

The  filberts,  both  the  red  and  the  white,  and  the 
cob-nut,  are  merely  varieties  of  the  common  hazel ; 
and  have  been  produced  partly  by  the  superiority  of 
soil  and  climate  where  they  grow,  and  partly  by  cul- 
ture. The  filbert  is  not  thicker  than  the  common 
nut,  but  it  is  at  least  double  the  length,  and  has  the 
kernel  large  in  proportion.  The  cob-nut  is  the  largest 
of  the  species,  and  it  is  round.  The  cluster-nut  differs 
from  the  others  only  in  the  fruit  being  produced  in 
large  clusters  at  the  ends  of  the  branches.  A  parti- 
cular form  of  tree  receives  in  some  parts  of  the  country 
(especially  in  Kent,  where  the  culture  of  the  filbert  is 
carried  on  with  advantage)  the  name  of  the  dwarf 
productive  nut,  though  that  name  indicates  rather 
the  mode  in  which  the  tree  is  trained  than  the  va- 


324  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

riety  to  which  it  belongs.  Generally  speaking,  the 
filbert  is  but  a  low  grower;  but  still  considerable 
ingenuity  is  exerted  in  keeping  it  down, — it  having 
been  found  by  general  experience  that  the  dwarfing 
of  fruit  trees  is  the  most  effectual  means  of  ensuring 
a  large  and  uniform  crop,  and  fruit  of  superior  quality. 
The  trees  that  are  dwarfed  are  not  allowed  to  exceed 
seven  feet  in  height;  and  they  are  trimmed  in  the 
form  of  a  goblet,  with  an  open  centre,  as  is  generally 
done  with  well-managed  gooseberry  trees.  When  the 
tree  comes  into  proper  bearing,  this  goblet  has  at- 
tained a  diameter  of  about  six  feet,  which  is  every 
season  covered  with  filberts,  both  outside  and  inside. 
The  nuts  are  of  excellent  quality;  and  it  is  found  by 
comparison,  that  a  tree  treated  in  this  manner,  with 
the  ground  regularly  hoed  and  cleaned,  will  produce 
more  than  three  which  are  planted  in  a  hedge-row  or 
coppice,  and  allowed  to  run  wild  in  the  usual  manner. 

There  is  something  singular  in  the  flowering  of  the 
hazel:  the  male  catkin  makes  its  appearance  in  au- 
tumn, and  continues  to  increase  till  spring,  at  which 
time  the  female  ovaries,  that  are  to  produce  the  nuts, 
make  their  appearance  :  this  takes  place  as  early  as 
February,  and  before  there  is  yet  a  leaf  upon  the 
deciduous  trees;  so  that,  besides  its  advantages  as  a 
fruit,  the  filbert  may  be  regarded  as  an  ornamental 
tree,  at  that  season  when  groves  and  coppices  have 
the  least  beauty. 

The  word  filbert  is  a  corruption  of  the  original 
English  name  for  this  nut,  full-beard — which  was 
applied  to  the  large  and  fringed  husk,  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  closer  covering  of  the  common  hazel. 
Our  old  poet,  Gower,  assigns  a  more  classical  origin 
to  the  name: — 

"  Phillis 

Was  shape  into  a  nutte-tree, 
That  all  men  it  might  see  ; 


THE    HAZEL-NUT  325 

And  after  Phillis,  Philberd 
This  tree  was  cleped."* 

The  Constantinople  nut  ( Corylis  colurna)  is  a 
superior  nut  even  to  the  best  variety  of  the  hazel. 
Its  flavour  is  equal,  and  its  size  is  more  than  double. 
It  is  a  round  nut,  invested  with  a  deep  calyx,  or  invo- 
lucre, which  covers  it  almost  entirely,  and  is  very 
much  lobed  and  fringed  at  its  extremity. 

L'Ecluse  a  distinguished  gardener,  brought  the 
nuts  of  the  Corylus  colurna  from  Constantinople,  in 
1582;  and  Linnaeus  states,  that  in  the  Botanical 
Garden  at  Leyden  there  was  growing  in  1736,  a  fine 
tree  of  this  species,  planted  by  L'Ecluse.  It  was 
cultivated  in  England  by  Ray,  in  1666.  This  tree 
grows  naturally  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Constan- 
tinople. 

The  American  nut  (  Corylus  americana)  is  a  beau- 
tiful species,  extensively  spread  over  North  America, 
and  which  has  been  cultivated  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Paris. 

The  involucra  and  bottoms  of  the  nuts  of  all  the 
species  and  varieties  of  Corylus  are  extremely  austere 
and  astringent  when  in  their  green  state;  and  it  is 
doubtful  whether  they  might  not  then  be  profitably 
employed  either  in  the  tanning  of  leather,  or  perhaps 
for  the  same  purposes  as  galls. 

The  Spanish  nuts  of  the  shops  are  fresh  nuts  from 
Spain;  the  Barcelona  nuts  are  another  variety,  kiln- 
dried  before  exportation. 

THE  CAROB-TREE  ( Ceratonia  siliqua) 

which  grows  extensively  in  the  south  of  Europe,  par- 
ticularly in  some  provinces  of  Spain,  of  which  Va- 
lencia is  the  principal,  bears  a  fruit  called  the  carob 
bean,  which  is  an  important  article  of  commerce.  It 

*  Confessio  Amantis. 
VOL      II  10* 


326  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

is  chiefly  used  for  the  feeding  of  cattle;  but  furnishes 
a  nutritive  aliment  to  the  poor  in  times  when  there  is 
a  scarcity  of  bread  corn. 


We  have  thus  noticed  the  most  interesting  facts 
connected  with  the  history  and  properties  of  the  fruits 
of  the  temperate  climates.  We  have  not  attempted 
to  treat  the  subject  with  any  pretension  to  scientific 
classification  or  description,  nor  to  give  any  practical 
directions  for  their  cultivation.  Our  object  has  been 
to  direct  the  popular  attention  to  some  of  the  most 
interesting,  although  the  most  common,  of  the  vege- 
table substances  by  which  we  are  surrounded.  It  is 
instructive  to  trace  how  gradually  man  has  gathered 
around  the  dwellings  of  civilization  those  fruits  which 
have  been  scattered  by  Providence  over  the  most  dis- 
tant parts  of  the  globe;  and  how  he  has  improved 
them  by  long  ages  of  careful  cultivation.  By  the 
exercise  only  of  such  activity  and  skill  has  man,  under 
every  circumstance,  conquered  the  original  difficulties 
of  his  lot;  and  by  depending  for  every  comfort  and 
enjoyment  upon  his  own  exertion,  has  he  developed 
and  matured  the  intellectual  faculties  with  which  God 
has  endowed  him. 

It  will  be  naturally  observed  how  greatly  we  are 
indebted  to  the  extension  of  our  commercial  intercourse 
for  all  additions  to  the  species  of  our  fruits,  and  for 
almost  every  improvement  in  their  varieties.  The 
succeeding  chapters  on  Tropical  Fruits  will  exhibit 
many  interesting  facts  calculated  still  further  to  show 
how  commercial  industry  diffuses  blessings  over  the 
whole  globe;  overcomes  the  obstacles  of  distance 
and  climate;  and  unites  the  entire  human  race,  by 
common  wants  and  mutual  obligations,  into  one  vast 
family. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Fruits  common  to  temperate  and  tropical  Climates.    The  Orange  Genus. 

WE  are  about  to  take  a  general  and  rapid  view  of  the 
fruits  which  are  indigenous  to  other  climates.  Many 
of  these  are  scarcely  known  in  this  country  except 
as  curiosities;  while  others  are  partially  cultivated  as 
objects  of  luxury.  Particular  fruits,  which  are 
scarcely  ever  seen  here  in  their  natural  state,  such  as 
the  date  and  the  banana,  supply  largely  to  the  neces- 
sities of  great  masses  of  mankind;  and  they  are 
thus  intimately  connected  with  their  moral  and  social 
condition.  Of  the  more  luxurious  fruits,  such  as  the 
mango  and  the  durion,  it  is  probable  that,  in  the 
course  of  time,  we  may  obtain  possession  of  them  in 
the  same  way  that  we  possess  the  pine-apple, — that 
is,  by  the  judicious  application  of  artificial  heat.  Sir 
Joseph  Banks  thought  that  improvements  in  the  art 
of  forcing  fruits  would  render  this  ^period  not  at  all 
distant.  He  says,  "  It  does  not  require  the  gilt  of 
prophecy  to  foretell,  that  ere  long  the  akee  and  the 
avocado  pear  of  the  West  Indies;  the  flat  peach,  the 
mandarine  orange,  and  the  litchi  of  China;  the 
mango,  the  mangostan,  and  the  durion  of  the  East 
Indies;  and  possibly  other  valuable  (tropical)  fruits, 
will  be  frequent  at  the  tables  of  opulent  persons; 
and  some  of  them,  perhaps,  in  less  than  half  a  cen- 
tury, be  offered  for  sale  on  every  market  day  in 
Covent  Garden."* 

*  Hort.  Trans.,  vol.  i. 


328          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

It  is  certainly  by  no  means  improbable,  that,  by 
further  improvements  in  the  art  of  gardening,  we 
may  be  enabled  to  diversify  our  vegetable  stores  by 
many  of  those  choice  productions  of  the  tropical 
countries  which  are  at  present  known  only  as  curi- 
osities to  a  few.  Many  tropical  plants,  which,  at 
their  first  introduction,  were  kept  entirely  in  stoves, 
are  now  planted  out,  and  can  bear  the  rigour  of  our 
ordinary  winters,  without  any  abatement  of  growth 
or  diminution  of  beauty;  and  from  this  we  may 
reasonably  hope  that  some  tropical  fruits  may  in  time 
be  so  far  assimilated  to  our  climate  as  to  ripen  in  our 
ordinary  summers. 

But,  while  the  great  number  of  tropical  fruits  are 
of  little  value  to  the  many,  there  is  a  fruit,  originally 
a  native  of  tropical  regions,  and  naturally  growing 
only  in  countries  of  a  higher  temperature  than  our 
own,  which  commerce  has  made  our  property  in 
a  very  remarkable  degree.  The  orange  may  be 
procured  at  little  more  cost  than  that  of  the  com- 
monest of  our  domestic  fruits;  while  it  is  the  most 
refreshing  and  healthy,  perhaps,  of  all  the  fruits 
of  the  warm  countries.  It  has  thus  become  a 
peculiar  blessing  to  us:  for  while  it  offers  a  grati- 
fication within  the  reach  of  the  poorest,  it  is  so  su- 
perior to  other  fruits,  that  it  cannot  be  despised 
for  its  cheapness,  even  by  the  richest.  The  duty 
upon  oranges  is  68,000/.  per  annum,  at  the  rate 
of  2s.  6d.  for  a  package  not  exceeding  5000  cubic 
inches.  Assuming  the  cubical  contents  of  an  orange 
as  ten  inches,  there  are  500  in  each  package — and 
thus  we  see  that  272,000,000  of  this  fruit  are  an- 
nually imported,  allowing  about  a  dozen  per  annum 
to  every  individual  of  the  population. 

This  extraordinary  consumption  of  a  production 
which  is  brought  here  from  very  distant  places,  is  a 


THE    ORANGE    GENUS.  329 

natural  consequence  of  certain  qualities  which  fit  the 
orange,  in  a  remarkable  degree,  for  being  the  uni- 
versal fruit  of  commerce.  If  we  would  have  foreign 
figs  and  grapes,  they  must  be  dried,  for  the  undried 
grapes,  which  we  bring  even  from  the  short  distance 
of  Portugal,  are  flat  and  vapid  ;  the  tamarind  is  a 
liquid  preserve  ;  the  guava  must  be  made  into  a 
jelly  ;  the  mango  destined  for  us  requires  to  be 
pulled  before  it  is  ripe,  and  is  pickled  ;  the  date 
must  be  dried;  and  the  cocoa  nut  becomes  when 
here  consolidated  and  indigestible.  With  regard  to 
the  orange,  man  may  have  it  fresh  in  every  region  of 
the  world,  and  at  almost  every  season  of  the  year. 
The  aromatic  oil  and  the  rind  preserve  it  from  the 
effects  both  of  heat  and  of  cold  ;  and  the  acridity  of 
the  former  renders  it  proof  against  the  attacks  of 
insects.  It  is  true  that  oranges  rot,  like  other  fruits  ; 
but  that  does  not  happen  for  a  long  time,  if  the  rind 
is  uninjured,  and  they  are  kept  from  moisture,  and 
so  ventilated  as  not  to  ferment. 

Most  of  the  oranges  and  lemons  intended  for  ex- 
portation are  gathered  while  they  are  still  green  ;  for 
if  the  fruit  were  allowed  to  become  mature  it  would 
spoil  in  the  transport.  Lemons  are  sometimes  pre- 
served by  being  impregnated  with  sea-water.  The  ga- 
thering of  oranges  and  lemons  for  the  British  market 
generally  occupies  from  the  commencement  of  Octo- 
ber to  the  end  of  December.  Oranges  are  not  fully 
ripe  till  the  spring  has  commenced.  It  is  remarkable 
that  the  orange  trees  from  which  the  fruit  is  gathered 
green  bear  plentifully  every  year  ;  while  those  upon 
which  the  fruit  is  suffered  to  ripen  afford  abundant 
crops  only  on  alternate  years.* 

The  Citrons  are  one  of  the  most  interesting  families 
of  plants.  They  are  all  originally  natives  of  the 

*  Diet,  des  Sciences  Nalurelles. 


330  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

warmer  parts  of  Asia,  though  they  have  been  long 
introduced  into  the  West  Indies,  the  tropical  parts  of 
America,  the  Atlantic  Isles,  the  wanner  countries  of 
Europe,  and  even  Britain,  where  they  bear  the  open 
air  during  the  summer,  and,  in  favourable  situations, 
do  not  need  artificial  heat,  if  kept  from  the  frost 
through  the  winter."  They  are  all  either  small  trees 
or  shrubs  with  brown  stems,  green  twigs  and 
leaves,  bearing  some  resemblance  to  those  of  the 
laurel.  We  cannot,  however,  judge  of  the  size  of  the 
orange-tree  by  the  specimens  we  ordinarily  see  in 
England.  In  parts  of  Spain  there  are  some  old 
orange  trees  forming  large  timber  ;*  in  the  con- 
vent of  St.  Sabina,  at  Rome,  there  is  an  orange-tree 
thirty-one  feet  high,  which  is  said  to  be  six  hundred 
years  old  ;  and  at  JNice,  in  1789,  there  was  a  tree 
which  generally  bore  five  or  six  thousand  oranges, 
which  was  more  than  fifty  feet  high,  with  a  trunk 
which  required  two  men  to  embrace  it."]"  The  size 
depends  much  upon  the  age  of  the  plant. 

There  are  four  distinct  species  : — The  Lemon,  or 
Citron,  the  Orange,  the  Mandarin  Orange,  and  the 
Shaddock  ;  and  of  the  orange  and  lemon  there  are 
many  varieties.  They  are,  even  in  the  East,  where 
they  are  natives,  not  a  little  capricious  in  their 
growth  ;  the  fruit,  and  even  the  leaves,  frequently 
altering,  so  that  it  is  not  always  easy  to  say  which  is 
a  distinct  species,  and  which  only  a  variety.  They 
continue  flowering  during  nearly  all  the  summer,  and 
the  fruit  takes  two  years  to  come  to  maturity,  so  that 
for  a  considerable  period  of  each  year,  a  healthy  tree 
has  every  stage  of  the  production,  from  the  flower- 
bud  to  the  ripe  fruit,  in  perfection  at  the  same  time. 

*  Laborde.  t  Risso. 


THE    ORANGE    GENUS.  331 


The  Citron. 

The  Citron,  when  growing  wild,  is  a  thorny  tree, 
about  eight  feet  high,  with  leaves  of  a  pale  green  : 
the  flowers  are  white,  and  have  a  very  agreeable 
odour.  The  fruit  is  oblong,  five  or  six  inches  long, 
with  a  rough  yellow  rind  ;  the  outer  part  of  it  con- 
tains (as  is  the  case  with  most  of  the  family)  a  con- 
siderable quantity  of  highly  aromatic  and  inflam- 
mable oil  :  the  pulp  is  white  and  edible,  but  very  acid, 
and  preferred  when  prepared  as  a  sweetmeat.  Of  a 
particular  variety  of  the  citron  a  conserve  is  made 
which  is  in  great  demand  by  the  Jews,  who  use  it 
in  their  Feast  of  Tabernacles.  With  a  little  artificial 
heat  in  winter,  the  citron  comes  to  as  much  perfection 
in  England  as  in  Spain  or  Italy.  There  are  two 
varieties  noticed — the  common  and  the  sweet,  but 
whether  they  have  been  produced  by  natural  difference 
or  culture  is  not  known. 

The  Lemon  grows  naturally  in  that  part  of  India 
which  is  situated  beyond  the  Ganges  ;  but  its  trans- 
migration to  Europe  belongs  to  the  invasion  of  the 
West  by  those  mighty  caliphs,  who,  from  the  heart  of 
Southern  Asia,  extended  their  conquests  to  the  foot 


332  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


T/ie  Lemon. 

of  the  Pyrenees,  leaving  everywhere  traces  of  their 
power  and  of  their  knowledge.  The  lemon,  thus 
transported  by  the  Arabs  into  every  part  of  their  vast 
empire  where  it  would  grow,  was  found  by  the  cru- 
saders in  Syria  and  Palestine  towards  the  end  of  the 
eleventh  century.  By  them  it  was  introduced  into 
Sicily  and  Italy  ;  though  it  is  probable  that  at  the 
same  period  it  was  already  multiplied  in  Africa  and 
Spain.*  Arabic  writers  of  the  twelfth  century  speak 
of  the  lemon-tree  as  then  cultivated  in  Egypt  and 
many  other  places.  Matthew  Silvaticus,  a  writer  of 
that  time,  says  that  the  lemon  was  then  spread  over 
all  Italy. 

In  the  southern  parts  of  Europe,  where  the  lemon 
is  abundant,  there  are  many  varieties. 

The  rind  of  the  lemon  is  much  smoother  than 
that  of  the  citron  ;  the  bark  of  the  tree  is  less  smooth. 

*  Risso,  p.  7. 


THE    LIME,  333 


The  Lime. 

The  Lime,  or  sour  lemon,  is  a  small  and  shrubby- 
tree,  the  fruit  of  which  is  much  smaller  than  that  of 
the  citron  or  lemon,  being  only  about  an  inch,  or  an 
inch  and  a  half  in  diameter.  The  lime  is  not  much 
cultivated  in  Europe ;  but  it  is  a  great  favourite  in 
the  West  Indies,  being  more  acid  and  cooling  than 
the  lemon.  In  that  country  there  is  a  sweet  lime, 
intermediate  between  the  lemon  and  the  sour  lime; 
and  botanical  writers  are  of  opinion  that  hybrids  or 
mules  are  produced  between  all  the  varieties,  and 
probably  also  the  species,  of  the  citrons. 

The  Orange  is  a  taller  and  more  beautiful  tree  than 
either  the  citron  or  the  lemon;  but,  like  them,  it  has 
prickly  branches  when  in  its  native  country.  The 
orange  was  originally  brought  from  India. 

The  precise  time  at  which  the  orange  was  intro- 
duced into  England  is  not  known  with  certainty,  but 
probably  it  may  have  taken  place  not  long  after  their 
introduction  into  Portugal,  which  was  in  the  early 
part  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  first  oranges,  it  is  stated,  were  imported  into 

VOL.    II.  11 


334  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


The  Orange. 

England  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh;*  and  it  is  added 
that  Sir  Francis  Carew,  who  married  the  neice  of  Sir 
Walter,  planted  their  seeds,  and  they  produced  the  . 
orange  trees  at  Beddington,  in  Surrey,  of  which 
Bishop  Gibson,  in  his  additions  to  Camden's  Bri- 
tannia, speaks  as  having  been  there  for  a  hundred 
years  previous  to  1695.  As  these  trees  always  pro- 
duced fruit,  they  could  not,  as  Professor  Martyn 
justly  observes,  have  been  raised  from  seeds;  but 
they  may  have  been  brought  from  Portugal,  or  from 
Italy,  (the  place  whence  orange-trees  have  usually 
been  obtained,)  as  early  as  the  close  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  trees  at  Beddington  were  planted  in 
the  open  ground,  with  a  moveable  cover  to  screen 
them  from  the  inclemency  of  the  winter  months.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  they  had 
attained  the  height  of  eighteen  feet,  and  the  stems 
were  about  nine  inches  in  diameter;  while  the  spread 

*  Biographia  Britannica;  Art.  Raleigh. 


THE    ORANGE.  335 

of  the  head  of  the  largest  one  was  twelve  feet  the 
one  way  and  nine  the  other.  There  had  always  been 
a  wall  on  the  north  side  of  them  to  screen  them  from 
the  cold  of  that  quarter,  but  they  were  at  such  a  dis- 
tance from  the  wall  as  to  have  room  to  spread,  and 
plenty  of  air  and  light.  In  1738  they  were  sur- 
rounded by  a  permanent  inclosure,  like  a  greenhouse. 
They  were  all  destroyed  by  the  great  frost  of  the 
following  winter;  but  whether  wholly  Bowing  to  the 
frost,  or  partly  to  the  confinement  and  damp  of  the 
permanent  inclosure,  cannot  now  be  ascertained. 

John  Parkinson,  apothecary,  of  London,  one  of 
the  most  voluminous  of  our  early  writers  on  plants, 
who  published  his  l  Practise  of  Plants'  in  1629, 
gives  some  curious  directions  for  the  preservation  of 
orange-trees,  from  which  one  would  be  led  to  con- 
clude that  the  trees  at  Beddington,  with  their  ample 
protection  of  a  moveable  covering  in  winter,  had  not 
been  in  existence  then.  "  The  orange-tree,"  says 
he,  "  hath  abiden,  with  some  extraordinary  branching 
and  budding  of  it,  when  as  neither  citron  nor  lemon- 
trees  would  by  any  means  be  preserved  for  any  long 
time.  Some  keepe  them  in  square  boxes,  and  lift 
them  to  and  fro  by  iron  hooks  on  the  sides,  or  cause 
them  to  be  rowled  on  trundels  or  small  wheels  under 
them,  to  place  them  in  an  house,  or  close  galerie,  for 
the  winter  time:  others  plant  them  against  a  bricke 
wall  in  the  ground,  and  defend  them  by  a  shed  of 
boardes,  covered  with  seare-cloth  in  the  winter;  and 
by  the  wagnth  of  a  stove,  or  such  other  thing,  give 
them  some  comfort  in  the  colder  times :  but  no  tent 
or  meane  provision  will  preserve  them."  The  orange 
trees  at  Versailles  are,  during  the  winter,  wheeled  into 
warm  places  under  the  terrace;  and  the  same  plan  is 
to  be  pursued  with  respect  to  some  fine  orange-trees 
at  Windsor,  which  have  been  lately  presented  to  his 
Majesty  by  the  King  of  France.  At  Hampton 


336  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

Court  there  are  many  orange-trees,  some  of  which 
are  stated  to  be  three  hundred  years  old.  They  are 
generally  moved  into  the  open  air  about  the  middle 
of  June,  when  the  perfume  of  their  blossoms  is  most 
delicious.  Orange  and  lemon-trees  have  been  culti- 
vated in  the  open  air  in  England.  For  a  hundred 
years,  in  a  few  gardens  of  the  south  of  Devon- 
shire, they  have  been  seen,  trained  as  peach-trees 
against  walls,  and  sheltered  only  with  mats  of  straw 
during  the  winter.  The  fruit  of  these  is  stated  to 
be  as  large  and  fine  as  any  from  Portugal.* 


The  Shaddock. 

The  Shaddock  is  much  larger  than  the  orange, 
both  in  the  tree  and  the  fruit.  The  tree  is  both  lofty 
and  spreading,  and  the  fruit  is  about  eight  inches  in 
circumference, — some,  indeed,  much  larger.  The 
shaddock  is  a  native  of  China  and  the  adjoining 
countries,  where  the  name  of  "sweet  ball"  is  given 
to  it.  There  are  many  varieties — some  with  the  pulp 
white,  others  with  it  nearly  red;  some  that  are  sweet, 

*  Hort.  Trans.,  vol.  i. 


THE    SHADDOCK.  337 

with  but  little  acidity — and  some  acid,  with  but  little 
sweetness.  The  shaddock  derived  its  specific  name 
from  having  been  first  carried  from  China  to  the 
West  Indies  by  Captain  Shaddock.  It  has,  however, 
been  neglected  there,  and  now  but  seldom  merits  its 
oriental  name  of  sweet  ball.  The  planters  have  never 
been  remarkable  for  their  knowledge  of  science,  or 
their  skill  in  the  new  operations  of  the  arts;  and 
thus,  instead  of  propagating  the  shaddock  by  bud- 
ding, as  is  done  in  China,  and  which  is  the  only  way 
that  it  can  be  improved,  or  even  kept  from  degene- 
rating, they  have  reared  it  from  seed,  and  conse- 
quently have  generally  obtained  a  harsh  and  sour 
sort,  which  is  of  very  little  value.  It  is  showy,  no 
doubt,  from  its  size  and  the  appearance  of  the  tree 
when  growing ;  but  it  is  the  least  valuable  or  desirable 
of  the  genus  produced  in  the  west. 

These  are  the  four  species  of  the  orange  genus 
usually  known  in  commerce;  but,  on  account  of  the 
beauty,  the  good  qualities,  and  the  abundance  of 
these  delightful  fruits,  as  well  as  the  length  of  time 
that  they  remain  in  season,  they  demand  a  more  de- 
tailed account  than  can,  in  this  sketch,  be  given  of 
many  of  the  other  tropical  fruits.  The  manner,  too, 
in  which  truth  and  fable  are  blended  in  their  com- 
mon history,  renders  such  an  account  more  de- 
sirable ;  and  thus  we  shall  devote  a  few  pages  to  the 
further  consideration  of  the  genus. 

At  the  time  when  the  people  of  Europe  first 
visited  the  Levant  in  great  numbers, — that  is,  during 
the  crusades  for  the  recovery  of  Syria  from  the  do- 
minion of  the  Saracens, — oranges  were  found  abun- 
dant in  that  country.  Though  they  were  in  reality 
cultivated  trees,  their  number,  and  the  beauty  and 
goodness  of  their  fruit,  naturally  caused  the  adven- 
turers (who  were  not  very  conversant  with  Natural 

VOL.  n.  11* 


338          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

History,  and  not  a  little  prone  to  romance  and  cre- 
dulity) to  believe  and  state  that  these  were  indigenous 
to  the  country  and  formed  a  portion  of  the  glories 
of  the  "Holy  Land." 

The  fables  of  the  profane  writers,  and  the  ambi- 
guity of  the  descriptions  of  vegetables  in  holy  writ, 
helped  further  to  confirm  this  opinion.  As  the 
oranges  were  of  the  form  of  apples,  and  the  colour 
of  gold,  in  did  not  require  much  stretch  of  imagina- 
tion to  make  them  the  golden  apples  of  the  Garden 
of  the  Hesperides  ;  and  the  only  point  that  re- 
mained was  to  settle  the  locality  of  that  fabled  para- 
dise, which  was  generally  laid  in  the  part  of  Africa 
which  lies  between  the  mountains  of  Atlas  and 
the  southern  shore  of  the  Mediterranean.  The  au- 
thority of  Moses  was  called  in  to  confirm  the  exist- 
ence of  this  fruit  in  Syria,  even  at  the  time  when  the 
children  of  Jacob  were  wandering  in  the  wilderness; 
and  one  of  the  trees  borne  in  the  procession  com- 
manded in  the  twenty-third  chapter  of  the  book  of 
Leviticus,  was  considered  to  have  been  the  orange. 
The  mala  medica  of  the  Romans,  which  is  mentioned 
by  Virgil,  and  afterwards  by  Palladio  and  others; 
the  kitron  of  the  Greeks;  and  the  citrus  of  Josephus, 
were  all  understood  to  mean  the  same  fruit:  and,  as 
has  been  found  to  be  the  case  with  many  other  sub- 
stances, the  moderns  supposed  that,  because  there 
was  an  identity  of  name,  there  must  be  an  identity  of 
substance, — never  reflecting  that  the  name  had  been 
imposed  by  themselves,  and  that  therefore  its  identity 
proved  nothing. 

The  fable  continued,  however  ;  and,  though,  there 
was  a  good  deal  of  writing  upon  the  subject,  there 
was  no  attempt  to  examine  the  authorities  with  that 
minuteness  which  the  search  of  truth  demanded,  till 
the  nineteenth  century.  The  history  of  this  fruit 
was  first  carefully  traced  by  Galessio,  who  published 


THE    ORANGE    GENUS.  339 

his  '  TraiM  du  Citrus,'  at  Paris,  in  1811.  He 
maintains  that  the  orange  instead  of  being  found  in 
the  north  of  Africa,  in  Syria,  or  even  in  Media, 
whence  the  Romans  must  have  obtained  their  "  Me- 
dian Apples,"  was  not  in  that  part  of  India  which  is 
watered  by  the  Indus  at  the  time  of  Alexander  the 
Great's  Indian  expedition,  as  it  is  not  mentioned  by 
Nearchus  among  the  fruits  and  productions  of  that 
country.  It  is  not  mentioned  either  by  Arrian,  by 
Diodorus,  or  Pliny;  and  even  so  late  as  the  year 
1300,  Pietro  di  Cuescengi,  a  senator  of  Bologna, 
who  wrote  on  agriculture  and  vegetable  productions, 
does  not  take  the  least  notice  of  the  orange. 

The  first  distinct  mention  of  oranges  is  by  the 
Arabs;  and  Avicenna  (book  v.)  not  only  describes 
oleum  de  citrangula  (oil  of  oranges)  and  oleum  de 
citrangulorum  seminibus  (oil  of  orange  seeds,)  but 
speaks  of  citric  acid  (salt  of  lemons,)  which  is  con- 
tained in  all  the  genus,  though  more  abundantly  in 
that  species  from  which  it  got  its  common  English 
name. 

According  to  Galessio,  the  Arabs,  when  they  pene- 
trated to  India,  found  the  orange  tribes  there,  further 
in  the  interior  than  Alexander  had  penetrated;  and 
they  brought  them  thence  by  two  routs:  the  sweet 
ones,  now  called  China  oranges,  through  Persia  to 
Syria,  and  thence  to  the  shores  of  Italy  and  the 
south  of  France;  and  the  bitter  oranges,  called  in 
the  commerce  of  England,  Seville  oranges,  by  Arabia, 
Egypt,  and  the  north  of  Africa  to  'Spain. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  orange  was  originally 
a  Chinese  fruit,  as  it  is  not  mentioned  by  Marco  Polo, 
the  father  of  modern  travellers,  who  is  so  circumstan- 
tial in  describing  all  the  other  wonders  of  that 
country. 

Now  these  facts  certainly  go  far  to  shew  that  the 
orange  was  not  known  to  the  ancients  either  in  Eu- 


340          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

rope  or  in  Syria;  but  that  we  are  indebted  for  the 
first  knowledge  of  it  to  the  Arabs,  who,  with  their 
zeal  to  propagate  the  religion  of  the  Koran,  were  as 
anxious  to  extend  the  advantages  of  agriculture  and 
medicine.  The  sweet  orange  which  they  introduced 
was  not,  strictly  speaking,  that  which  has  since  been 
called  the  China  orange,  and  under  that  name  in- 
troduced into  Spain,  Portugal,  St.  Michael's  the 
other  Atlantic  isles,  and  the  West  Indies;  but  rather 
the  orange  which  was  known  in  Italy  before  Vasco  de 
Gama  had  doubled  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  orange  is  said  to  have  been  found  by  the 
Portuguese  upon  the  east  coast  of  Africa;  but  it  is 
not  known  whether  it  had  been  indigenous  there, 
or  disseminated  by  the  Arabs.  When  the  Portuguese 
reached  India,  they  found  the  orange  there,  and  also 
in  China,  which  was  visited  for  the  first  time  by  sea 
in  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Although  the  oranges  of  St.  Michael,  in  the  Azores, 
are  now  the  best  that  are  to  be  met  with  in  the  Euro- 
pean market,  they  are  not  indigenous  productions 
of  that  island;  but  were  sent  there  by  the  Portu- 
guese, as  the  same  fruit  was  originally  sent  to  the 
American  continent  by  the  Spaniards.  In  the  middle 
of  a  forest  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Cedeno,  Hum- 
boldt  found  wild  orange  trees,  laden  with  large  and 
sweet  fruit.  They  were,  probably,  the  remains  of 
some  old  Indian  plantations;  for  the  orange  cannot 
be  reckoned  amongst  the  spontaneous  vegetable  pro- 
ductions of  the  New  World. 

But,  in  whatever  way  oranges  were  first  intro- 
duced into  those  parts  of  the  world  of  which  they 
are  not  natives,  they  are  now  very  widely  diffused; 
and  wherever  they  are  found  they  are  among  the 
most  ornamental  of  trees,  and  the  most  delightful  of 
fruits.  The  species  and  varieties  have  also  been 
greatly  multiplied;  but  whether  from  their  proneness 


THE    ORANGE    GENUS.  341 

to  produce  varieties,  from  some  original  differences,  or 
from  difference  of  soil  and  climate,  cannot  now  be 
ascertained.  Including  all  the  different  species, 
Risso,  an  eminent  naturalist  at  Nice,  (and  from  his 
living  in  a  country  producing  oranges,  he  had  the 
best  opportunities  of  examining  and  studying  them,) 
has,  in  a  very  elegant  and  elaborate  natural  history 
of  oranges,  published  at  Paris  in  the  year  1818, 
enumerated,  described,  and,  with  respect  to  all  the 
more  important  sorts,  figured  no  fewer  than  one 
hundred  and  sixty-nine  varieties  :  these  he  has  divided 
into  eight  species  :  sweet  oranges,  bitter  oranges, 
bergamottes,  limes,  pampelucos,  sweet  limes,  lemons, 
and  citrons. 

Of  the  first  of  these  there  are  no  fewer  than  forty- 
three  varieties  ;  though,  in  the  opinion  of  Galessio, 
they  are  all  derived  from  the  common  orange.  The 
others  are,  generally  speaking,  more  acid  in  their 
flavour  ;  though  some  of  them,  such  as  the  berga- 
mottes, from  the  rind  of  which  the  celebrated  oil  of 
bergamot  is  obtained,  are  highly  perfumed. 

Of  the  bitter  oranges  Risso  enumerates  thirty-two 
varieties  ;  of  the  bergamottes,  five  ;  of  the  limes, 
eight ;  of  the  pampelucos,  six  ;  of  the  sweet  limes, 
twelve  ;  of  the  lemons,  forty-seven  ;  and  of  the 
citrons,  seventeen. 

There  is  something  peculiar  in  the  organization  of 
all  the  fruit  of  the  orange  tribe.  The  rind  or  external 
pericarp  of  them  all  is  a  spongy  texture,  containing 
but  little  juice  or  sap  of  any  kind  in  its  substance  ; 
but  the  external  surface  is  covered,  or  tuberculated 
over,  with  little  glands  that  secrete  a  volatile  oil  which 
is  very  inflammable,  more  or  less  acrid  according  to 
the  species,  and  of  a  very  strong  and  pungent  scent. 

The  family  of  the  oranges,  in  some  places  in  many 
of  their  varieties,  are  now  cultivated  in  Portugal,  in 
Spain,  in  France,  in  Italy,  and  in  Greece.  In  the 


342  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

first  two  countries  they  especially  abound — in  Al- 
garve,  and  in  the  fine  plains  of  Andalusia,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Guadalquivir.  The  latter  is  the  place 
from  which  the  bitter,  or  Seville,  oranges  are  chiefly 
obtained.  In  Algarve  and  Andalusia  the  orange- 
trees  are  of  great  size  ;  and  extensive  orchards  of 
oranges  have  formed  the  principal  revenue  of  the 
monks  for  several  centuries.  In  Cordova,  the  seat 
of  Moorish  grandeur  and  luxury,  there  are  orange 
trees  still  remaining,  Avhich  are  considered  to  be  six 
or  seven  hundred  years  old  :  and  in  that  province, 
whose  craggy  mountains  are  covered  with  gardens, 
and  vineyards,  and  forests  abounding  in  fruit,  the 
flowers  of  the  orange  fill  the  air  with  their  perfume, 
and  lead  the  imagination  back  to  those  days  which 
the  Moorish  poets  and  historians  delight  in  describing, 
when  the  land  which  they  conquered  was  adorned 
with  all  the  refinements  of  their  taste  and  intelligence, 
and  the  luxuries  of  the  East  were  naturalized  in  the 
most  delicious  regions  of  the  South.  The  trunks  of 
the  old  trees  of  Cordova  have  begun  to  decay  ;  and 
when  they  get  diseased,  they  are  crusted  with  a  kind 
of  lichen,  which  is  supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  the 
orange.  In  France,  the  orange  country  is  chiefly 
Provence,  or  that  part  of  the  south  which  lies  to  the 
eastward  of  the  Rhone  ;  and  plantations  or  groves  of 
oranges  are  the  most  abundant  and  the  most  beau- 
tiful on  the  banks  of  the  Var,  and  especially  in  the 
environs  of  Nice,  where  the  species  are  very  many, 
and  come  to  great  perfection.  To  the  west  of  the 
Rhone,  the  country  along  the  coast  is  flat,  sandy,  and 
barren  ;  and  on  the  plains  of  Languedoc,  that  lie 
interior  of  this  barren  tract,  the  olive  thrives  better 
than  the  orange,  apparently  because  there  are  no 
secondary  mountains  between  the  cold  heights  of  the 
Cevennes  and  the  plains.  The  country  to  the  east- 
ward of  the  Rhone  is  much  better  adapted  for  choice 


THE    ORANGE    GENUS.  343 

vegetables,  both  in  soil  and  in  aspect.  In  the 
western,  or  French  part  of  it,  the  Alps  descend  gra- 
dually, by  successive  elevations,  from  the  high  sum- 
mits of  Mont  Blanc,  Mont  Rosa,  and  St.  Bernard,  to 
the  -sea.  Thus  the  low  grounds  are  finely  exposed  to 
the  southern  sun  ;  and,  being  at  the  same  time  shel- 
tered from  every  quarter  whence  a  cold  wind  could 
come,  the  vegetation  is  at  once  luxuriant  and  choice. 
The  finest  bulbous  flowers,  the  myrtle,  the  cactus, 
and  many  others,  give  more  the  air  of  the  perpetual 
summer  of  the  tropical  countries,  than  is  to  be  found 
perhaps  in  any  other  country  of  Europe — certainly  in 
any  other  of  the  same  extent. 

The  glory  of  that  delightful  country  is  the  orange, 
which,  when  full  grown,  attains  the  height  of  about 
five  and  twenty  feet,  and  is  graceful  in  all  its  parts. 
The  trunk  and  older  branches  are  of  a  delicate  ash 
colour  ;  the  twigs  of  so  soft  a  green  that  they  almost 
appear  transparent  ;  the  leaves  are  moderately  large, 
beautifully  shaped,  of  a  fine  healthy  green,  and  shin- 
ing on  the  upper  sides,  while  the  under  ones  have 
a  slight  appearance  of  down.  The  flowers,  which 
are  in  little  bunches,  and  very  graceful  in  their  form, 
are,  in  the  sweet  oranges,  of  a  delicate  white,  and,  in 
the  more  acid  varieties  of  the  family,  lightly  marked 
with  pink.  Some  plants  have  a  more  powerful 
odour,  and  are  for  the  moment  more  rich  ;  but  there 
is  a  freshness  in  the  aroma  of  an  orange-grove  which 
never  offends  or  cloys  ;  and  as  the  tree  is  at  one  and 
the  same  time  in  all  stages  of  its  bearing — in  flower, 
in  fruit  just  set,  and  in  golden  fruit,  inviting  the 
hand  to  pull  and  the  palate  to  taste, — it  is  hardly 
possible  to  imagine  any  object  more  delightful.  The 
perfumes  of  Arabia  do  not  exceed  the  fragrance  of  the 
groves  on  the  north  of  the  Mediterranean,  in  which 
the  beautiful  white  Provence  rose,  the  tuberose,  and 
countless  other  flowers,  blend  their  sweets  with  that 


344  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

of  the  orange  ;  and  where,  with  all  this  richness,  the 
pestilent  airs  of  the  tropics,  and  even  the  sirocco  of 
the  southern  parts  of  Italy,  are  altogether  unknown. 
This  delightful  fertility  and  fragrance  accompany  the 
chain  of  the  Apennines  round  the  whole  gulph  of 
Genoa,  and  until,  upon  the  boundary  of  the  plain  of 
Tuscany,  they  subside  in  elevation,  and  bend  more 
toward  the  Adriatic. 

Tuscany  is  further  to  the  south  ;  but  the  climate 
and  the  vegetation  cannot  be  compared  to  those  of 
the  little  valleys  of  Provence  and  Liguria,  especially 
the  latter.  About  Florence,  there  are  still  orange- 
trees  in  the  gardens  ;  but  there  are  none  of  those 
aromatic  groves  and  plantations  which  are  found 
further  to  the  west.  Nor  are  the  causes  difficult  to 
find  out.  There  is  an  enemy  on  each  side  of  the 
plain  of  Tuscany,  which  will  not  allow  the  orange  to 
arrive  at  perfection.  The  gales  that  come  from  the 
south-east,  over  the  sandy  shores  near  Leghorn,  are 
not  adapted  for  a  plant  which,  as  well  as  heat  and 
pure  air,  requires  a  considerable  quantity  of  moisture; 
and  the  winds  from  the  north,  that  are  cooled  in 
passing  over  the  Adriatic,  are  not  so  genial  as  those 
from  the  Alps,  that  are  warmed  in  passing  over  the 
vale  of  Lombardy.  But  still  the  olives,  the  grapes, 
and  the  melons  of  the  vale  of  the  Arno,  in  so  far 
compensate  the  inhabitants  for  the  want  of  the 
orange. 

Eastward  of  Tuscany,  though  the  coast  of  Italy 
inclines  still  further  to  the  south,  it  is  even  less 
adapted  for  the  production  of  the  orange  ;  the  sea- 
coast  is  barren,  the  interior  is  dreary,  and  over  the 
whole  the  pestilent  malaria  creeps,  forbidding  man 
to  approach  even  for  the  cultivation  of  the  fields  ; 
and  thus  it  may  be  that,  ere  long,  the  arid  downs  by 
the  sea  will  meet  the  marsh  of  the  interior,  and  the 
centre  of  Italy  shall  be  desolation  to  the  very  base 


THE    ORANGE    GENUS.  345 

of  the  Apennines.  After  the  gulf  of  Gaeta  is  passed, 
and  the  shelter  of  the  more  elevated  mountains  of 
Calabria  is  obtained,  orange  groves  again  make  their 
appearance. 

Thus  the  locality  of  the  orange  depends  fully  as 
much  upon  situation  and  soil  as  upon  latitude;  and 
therefore  we  need  not  wonder  that,  considering  the 
many  and  varied  lands  in  which  it  is  cultivated,  there 
should  be  so  many  varieties  of  its  fruit.  There  is  no 
absolute  reason  for  supposing  that  the  sweet  and  the 
bitter  orange  were  originally  different;  and  even  now 
they  are  not  so  different  as  two  mushrooms  of  the 
very  same  variety, — the  one  produced  upon  a  dry 
and  airy  down,  and  the  other  upon  a  marsh.  Now, 
if  it  be  true  that  the  bitter  orange  of  Seville 
came,  by  successive  removals,  from  the  head  of  the 
Persian  Gulf,  along  the  margin  of  the  salt  desert, 
till  it  reached  the  states  of  Barbary,  where  it  was 
transplanted  into  Spain;  if  the  sweet  orange  of 
Malta,  Italy  and  France  came  through  the  more 
fertile  parts  of  Persia  and  Syria;  and  if  the  orange 
of  India  and  the  Azores  came  direct  from  China;  it 
would  follow  that  each  should  have  those  qualities 
which  we  find  in  it;  and  that  the  opinion  of  Galessio 
is  borne  out  by  the  only  evidence  which  the  case 
admits. 

Looking  at  the  facts,  we  are  induced  to  infer, 
that,  if  the  temperature  be  sufficiently  high  for 
maturing  its  flavour,  the  orange  is  delicious  in  pro- 
portion to  the  uniform  salubrity  of  the  air;  and 
that  those  high  temperatures  which  force  a  very 
large  expansion  of  the  fruit  are  against  the  fine- 
ness of  its  quality.  In  this  respect,  we  have  an  op- 
portunity of  contrasting  both  the  oranges  of  islands 
and  those  of  continents.  St.  Michael's,  in  the  Azores, 
and  Malta,  are  both  small  islands;  the  former  always 
exposed  to  the  equalizing  breezes,  which,  from  what- 

VOL.  u.  12 


346  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

ever  quarter  they  blow,  are  always  wafted  across  the 
expanse  of  the  Atlantic;  and  the  latter  lying  near 
the  dry  and  sultry  shores  of  Africa,  and,  of  course, 
subjected  to  more  changes  of  season  and  a  higher 
temperature.  There  is  also  some  difference  in  the 
soil.  Whether  it  be  the  decomposition  of  the  rock, 
or  saline  particles,  brought  by  the  same  pestilent 
wind  that  withers  the  south  of  Italy  and  Sicily  with 
the  sirocco,  it  is  well  known,  that  under  the  artificial 
earth  (brought  originally  from  Sicily)  which  forms 
the  soil  of  Malta,  there  gathers  a  crust;  and  that  if 
the  earth  be  not  trenched,  and  this  crust  removed  at 
the  end  of  a  certain  number  of  years,  it  ceases  to  be 
productive,  or  the  produce  becomes  so  bitter,  that  it 
is  not  healthful.  St.  Michael's  has  no  such  disad- 
vantage; the  soil  there  is  native  and  fertile,  and  de- 
posits nothing  calculated  to  injure  its  fertility,  or  im- 
pair the  qualities  of  its  produce. 

The  oranges  of  the  two  islands  are  such  as  one 
would  expect  from  those  differences:  the  Maltese 
orange  is  large,  the  rind  is  thick  and  spongy,  the 
glands  that  secrete  the  volatile  oil  are  prominent,  the 
pulp  is  red,  and  there  is  a  trace  of  bitterness  in  the 
taste;  while  the  St.  Michael's  orange  is  small,  the 
rind  is  thin  and  smooth,  the  glands  less  prominent, 
the  volatile  oil  in  smaller  quantity,  and  the  lighter 
coloured  pulp  more  sugary  and  delicious.  Some 
allowance  must  no  doubt  be  made  for  the  original 
differences  of  those  oranges,  regarding  them  as 
having  come  in  the  manner  stated  by  Galessio;  but 
they  have  now  been  long  enough  in  both  islands  for 
having  their  qualities  modified  by  the  different  cli- 
mates and  soils. 

The  modifications  produced  by  differences  of  soil 
and  climate,  in  the  same  vegetable,  are  among  the 
most  important  inquiries  in  the  science  of  plants; 
and  they  are  at  the  same  time  among  the  most 


THE    ORANGE    GENUS.  347 

difficult,  and  certainly  the  least  attended  to.  One 
principal  source  of  the  difficulty  lies  in  the  observer 
being  as  much  changed  as  the  thing  observed. 
Those  who  are  parched  with  thirst  do  not  stop  to 
analyze  the  water,  or  descant  upon  the  flavour  of 
whatever  beverage  they  may  have  recourse  to  for 
slaking  it.  The  removal  of  the  painful  sensation  is 
to  them  far  more  delicious  than  the  purity  of  the 
most  limpid  spring,  or  the  flavour  of  the  choicest 
wine.  Just  so  with  man  when  he  is  panting  under 
a  burning  atmosphere:  the  fruit  which  is  most 
delicious  to  him  is  that  which  is  most  cool.  This 
necessary  change  in  the  judge,  as  well  as  the 
thing  judged  of,  must  never  be  omitted  when  we 
come  to  compare  the  fruits  of  different  countries  as 
reported  of  by  those  who  have  enjoyed  them  there; 
and  we  never  can  be  certain  of  their  real  merits  till 
we  have  them  decided  by  the  same  individual  under 
the  same  circumstances.  To  take  a  case  in  point : 
a  guava,  apart  from  its  rarity,  is  certainly  not  in  this 
country  any  thing  comparable  to  a  peach;  and  yet 
those  who  have  been  in  tropical  countries  talk  in  rap- 
tures of  the  guava,  and  say  that  the  fruit  grown  here 
is  inferior  and  degenerated.  But  they  should  bear 
in  mind,  that  in  the  tropical  countries  there  is  the 
tropical  zest,  as  well  as  the  tropical  flavour.  The 
man  who  traverses  a  mountain  country  in  the  north, 
heeds  not  the  glittering  fountains  that  issue  from 
every  rock  around  him;  but  send  him  from  Suez  to 
Bassora,  or  from  Morocco  to  Fezzan,  and  he  would 
remember  them  with  veneration. 

But,  again,  we  have  a  further  confirmation  when 
we  compare  the  continental  oranges.  The  climate 
of  the  slopes  and  valleys  of  the  Estrella,  near  the 
lower  Tagus,  and  that  of  the  Maritime  Alps,  and  the 
Apennines,  in  Provence  and  Liguria,  are  certainly 
very  different  from  the  climate  of  Andalusia.  The 


348          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

diversities  of  surface,  and  the  vicinity  of  the  sea, 
keep  the  air  over  the  former  places  in  continual  play 
and  motion,  and  prevent  those  intense  heats  which 
unquestionably  (though  by  a  process  which  chemistry 
has  not  yet  fully  investigated)  render  the  juices  of 
plants  acid,  acrid,  or  saline;  while,  from  the  wider 
extent  of  Andalusia,  and  its  comparative  distance 
from  the  ocean,  the  air  over  it  is,  in  the  warmer  months, 
much  more  quiescent. 

These  considerations  will,  to  a  certain  extent,  ex- 
plain why  there  are  so  many  varieties  in  a  fruit, 
which,  according  to  the  authorities,  appear  all  to  have 
come  from  the  same  part  of  the  world;  and  a  further 
extension  of  these  considerations  would  form  a  cri- 
terion of  the  situations  in  which  it  would,  or  it  would 
not,  be  desirable  to  cultivate  the  orange. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


Fruits  common  to  temperate  and  tropical  Climates  continued.  The  Date. 


THE  DATE — Phoenix  dactylifera. 

THE  date  is  one  of  those  plants  which,  in  the 
countries  that  are  congenial  to  their  growth,  form 
the  principal  subsistence  of  man;  and  its  locality 
is  so  peculiar  that  it  cannot,  strictly  speaking,  be 
classed  either  with  the  fruits  of  the  temperate  cli- 
mates or  with  those  of  the  tropical.  It  holds  a 
certain  intermediate  place;  and  is  most  abundant 
in  regions  where  there  are  few  other  esculent  vege- 
tables to  be  found. 

There  is  one  district  where,  hi  consequence  of  the 
extreme  aridity  of  the  soil,  and  the  want  of  mois- 
ture in  the  air,  none  of  the  Cerealia  will  grow;  that 
district  is  the  margin  of  the  mighty  desert  which 

VOL.    II.  12* 


350  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

extends,  with  but  few  interruptions,  from  the  shores 
of  the  Atlantic  to  the  confines  of  Persia,  an  extent  of 
nearly  four  thousand  miles.  The  shores,  the  banks 
of  the  rivers,  and  every  part  of  this  region  in  which 
there  is  humidity,  are  exceedingly  fertile;  and  with 
but  unskilful  culture  produce  the  most  abundant  crops 
and  the  choicest  fruits.  But  along  the  verge  of  the 
desert,  and  in  the  smaller  oases  or  isles  which  here 
and  there  spot  that  wilderness  of  sand,  the  date  palm 
is  the  only  vegetable  upon  which  man  can  subsist. 
The  lofty  summits  of  the  mountains  of  Atlas  form  an 
effectual  barrier  to  the  humid  winds  from  the  sea. 
Accordingly,  the  richer  vegetation  extends  only  as 
far  to  the  south  of  them  as  the  courses  of  the  streams 
that  are  fed  by  the  mountain  snows;  and  these 
streams  are  soon  evaporated  by  the  air,  or  absorbed 
by  the  thirsty  soil.  The  more  lowly  vegetables  on 
that  soil  are  chiefly  of  a  saline  and  succulent  descrip- 
tion, such  as  euphorbias,  salsolas,  and  cactuses, 
which  retain  their  own  humidity  in  consequence  of 
their  smooth  and  close  rinds,  without  much  aid  from 
external  moisture;  but  their  juices  are  in  general  too 
acrid,  or  too  much  impregnated  with  soda,  for  being 
of  any  use  as  food.  Over  these,  the  date-palm  raises 
its  trunk  and  spreads  its  leaves,  and  is  the  sole  vege- 
table monarch  of  the  thirsty  land.  It  is  so  abundant, 
and  so  unmixed  with  any  thing  else  that  can  be  con- 
sidered as  a  tree  in  the  country  between  the  states 
of  Barbary  and  the  desert,  that  this  region  is  de- 
signated as  the  Land  of  Dates  (Biledulgerid;)  and 
upon  the  last  plain,  as  the  desert  is  approached,  the 
only  objects  that  break  the  dull  outline  of  the  land- 
scape are  the  date-palm  and  the  tent  of  the  Arab. 
The  same  tree  accompanies  the  margin  of  the  desert 
in  all  its  sinuosities;  in  Tripoli,  in  Barca,  along  the 
valley  of  the  Nile,  in  the  north  of  Arabia,  and  in  the 
south-east  of  Turkey. 


THE    DATE.  351 

This  region  of  the  date  has  perhaps  remained  for  a 
longer  period  unchanged  in  its  inhabitants  and  its 
productions  than  any  other  portion  of  the  world. 
The  Ishmaelites,  as  described  in  Scripture  history, 
were  but  little  different  from  the  Bedouins  of  the  pre- 
sent time ;  and  the  palm-tree  (which  in  ancient  history 
invariably  means  the  date)  was  of  the  same  use,  and 
held  in  the  same  esteem,  as  it  is  now.  When  the 
sacred  writers  wished  to  describe  the  majesty  and 
the  beauty  of  rectitude,  they  appealed  to  the  palm  as 
the  fittest  emblem  which  they  could  select.  "  He  shall 
grow  up  and  flourish  like  the  palm  tree"  is  the  pro- 
mise which  the  Royal  Poet  of  Israel  makes  for  the  just. 

Even  among  the  followers  of  other  faiths,  the  palm 
has  always  been  the  symbol  held  in  the  greatest 
veneration.  It  is  recorded  of  Mahomet  that,  like  the 
psalmist,  he  was  accustomed  to  compare  the  virtuous 
and  generous  man  to  the  date-tree:  u  He  stands 
erect  before  his  Lord;  in  every  action  he  follows  the 
impulse  received  from  above;  and  his  whole  life  is 
devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow  creatures."  The 
inhabitants  of  Medina,  who  possess  the  most  exten- 
sive plantations  of  date-trees,  say  that  their  prophet 
caused  a  tree  at  once  to  spring  from  the  kernel  at  his 
command,  and  to  stand  before  his  admiring  followers 
in  mature  fruitfulness  and  beauty.*  The  Tamana- 
quas  of  South  America  have  a  tradition  that  the 
human  race  sprung  again  from  the  fruits  of  the 
palm,  after  the  Mexican  age  of  water.  The  useful- 
ness of  the  tree  has  thus  caused  it  to  be  the  subject 
of  universal  veneration.  In  ancient  times,  and  in 
modern,  the  palm  has  been  the  symbol  of  triumph. 
The  Jews  carry  it  on  a  solemn  festival  in  commemo- 
ration of  their  fathers  having  gained  possession  of 
the  promised  land;|  and  the  Christians  in  remem- 

*  Burckhardt's  Arabia. 

t  Judsa  was  typified  by  the  palm-tree  upon  coins  of  Vespa- 
sian and  Titus. 


352          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

brance  of  that  more  glorious  victory,  when  the  Saviour 
rode  into  Jerusalem  amid  the  jubilations  and  hosan- 
nahs  of  the  people. 

And  the  tree  is  not  unworthy  of  those  honours 
which  mankind  have  in  all  ages  bestowed  upon  it. 
Indeed,  the  worthiness  of  the  tree  must  have  been 
the  cause  of  those  honours.  Rearing  its  stem,  and 
expanding  its  broad  and  beautiful  shade  where  there 
is  nothing  else  to  shelter  man  from  the  burning  rays 
of  the  sun,  the  palm-tree  is  hailed  by  the  wanderer  in 
the  desert  with  more  pleasure  than  he  hails  any  other 
tree  in  any  other  situation.  Nor  is  it  for  its  shade 
alone,  or  even  for  its  fruit,  that  the  palm  is  so  desir- 
able in  that  country;  for  wherever  a  little  clump  of 
palms  contrast  their  bright  green  with  the  red  wilder- 
ness around,  the  traveller  may  in  general  be  sure 
that  he  shall  find  a  fountain  ready  to  afford  him  its 
cooling  water. 

Nor  is  it  only  when  standing  alone  in  the  desert 
that  the  palm  is  a  majestic  tree.  Palms  form  the 
shade  and  the  beauty  of  many  of  the  tropical  forests. 
Some  of  them  are  among  the  tallest  of  trees;  and 
when  the  margin  of  a  river  is  spoken  of  as  more 
than  usually  delightful,  we  allude  to  its  "  palmy  side." 

The  Cucurito,  a  palm  of  South  America,  throws 
out  its  magnificent  leaves  over  a  trunk  a  hundred 
feet  high.  This  family  of  plants  diminish  in  grandeur 
and  beauty  as  they  advance  towards  the  temperate 
zone ;  and  Humboldt  says  that  those  who  have  only 
travelled  in  the  north  of  Africa,  in  Sicily,  and  in 
Murcia,  cannot  conceive  how  the  palms  should  be 
the  most  imposing  in  their  forms  of  all  the  trees  of 
the  forest.  The  palms  of  South  America  furnish  food 
in  a  variety  of  ways  to  the  people;  so  that  in  those 
wild  districts,  the  assertion  of  Linnaeus  forces  itself 
upon  the  mind, — that  the  region  of  palms  was  the 
first  country  of  the  human  race,  and  that  man  is 
essentially  palmivorous. 


THE    DATE.  353 

The  date-palm,  though  some  of  the  family  are 
more  majestic,  is  still  a  beautiful  tree.  The  stem  of 
it  shoots  up,  in  one  cylindrical  column,  to  the  height 
of  fifty  or  sixty  feet,  without  branch  or  division,  and 
of  the  same  thickness  throughout  its  whole  lenght. 
When  it  attains  this  height,  its  diameter  is  from  a  foot 
to  eighteen  inches.  From  the  summit  of  this  majestic 
trunk  it  throws  out  a  magnificent  crown  of  leaves, 
which  are  equally  graceful  in  their  formation  and  their 
arrangement. 

"  Those  groups  of  lovely  date-trees  bending 

Languidly  their  leaf-crowned  heads, 
Like  youthful  maids,  when  sleep  descending 
Warns  them  to  their  silken  beds."* 

The  main  stems  of  the  leaves  are  from  eight  to 
twelve  feet  long,  firm,  shining,  and  tapering  ;  and 
each  embraces,  at  its  insertion,  a  considerable  part 
of  the  trunk.  The  trunk  of  the  palm  is,  in  fact, 
made  up  of  the  remains  of  leaves,  the  ends  of  which 
are  prominent  just  under  the  crown,  but  more  obli- 
terated toward  the  root  of  the  tree.  The  bottoms 
of  the  leaves  are  enveloped  in  membranous  sheaths, 
or  fringed  with  very  tough  fibrous  matter.  These 
leaves  are  pinnated,  or  in  the  form  of  feathers,  each 
leaf  being  composed  of  a  great  number  of  long, 
narrow  leaflets,  which  are  alternate,  and  of  a  bright 
lively  green.  Near  the  base  of  the  leaf,  these  leaflets 
are  often  three  feet  long ;  but  even  then  they  are  not 
one  inch  in  breadth;  neither  do  they  open  flat,  but 
remain  with  a  ridge  in  the  middle,  something  like 
the  keel  of  a  boat.  When  the  leaves  are  young  they 
are  twisted  together,  and  matted  up  with  loose  fibres, 
which  open  and  disperse  as  the  leaf  expands.  The 
young  leaflet  is  also  armed  at  the  extremity  with  a 
hard  black  spine,  or  thorn.  They  are  more  stiff  and 
firm  than  the  leaves  of  any  other  tree. 

*  Moore. 


354  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

The  trunk  of  the  palm,  though  it  is  in  some  parts 
remarkably  hard  and  durable,  can  hardly  be  considered 
as  timber.  It  consists  of  longitudinal  fibres,  which 
are  not  so  much  interwoven  as  those  of  the  branching 
trees;  but  have  their  interstices  filled  with  a  sort  of 
pith,  or  medullary  substance,  when  young,  that  is 
near  the  top,  where  the  young  leaves  are  in  the  pro- 
gress of  formation.  This  medullary  substance  is  a 
sort  of  sap;  but  in  the  older  portions  of  the  tree  it 
consolidates,  though  it  always  remains  granular,  and, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  pith  of  trees,  is  as  easily  di- 
vided across  as  longitudinally.  Generally  speaking, 
the  medullary  part  ot  the  palm  is  much  lighter  in  the 
colour  than  the  fibrous  part;  and  thus  well  consoli- 
dated palm  trunks  have  a  beautifully  mottled  appear- 
ance when  cut  across.  The  wood  of  the  areca  palm, 
or  cabbage  palm  of  South  America,  is  sometimes 
used  in  ornamental  furniture,  under  the  name  of  cab- 
bage wood;  but  it  does  not  answer  very  well,  as  the 
ends  of  the  fibres  are  too  hard,  and  the  medullary 
matter  too  soft,  for  holding  glue.  For  the  same 
reason,  the  surface  is  very  difficult  to  polish,  and 
cannot  be  preserved  without  varnish. 

The  flowers  come  out  in  large  bunches,  or  spikes, 
from  between  the  leaves;  they  are  at  first  inclosed 
in  a  spatha,  or  sheath,  which  opens  to  let  them 
expand,  and  then  shrivels  and  withers. 

The  date-palm  is  a  dioecious  tree,  having  the  male 
flowers  in  one  plant,  and  the  female,  or  fruiting  ones, 
in  another.  The  male  flowers  are  considerably  larger 
than  the  female;  and  the  latter,  instead  of  stamens, 
have,  in  the  centres  of  them,  the  rudiments  of  the 
dates,  about  the  size  of  small  peas. 

The  two  distinct  sexes  of  the  date-tree  appear  to 
have  been  known  from  the  remotest  antiquity,  as 
they  are  noticed  by  all  the  ancients  who  describe  the 
tree.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable,  that  there  is  a 


THE    DATE.  355 

difference  in  the  fructification  of  the  wild  date  and 
the  cultivated,  though  both  are  precisely  the  same 
species.  Wild  dates  impregnate  themselves ;  but  the 
cultivated  ones  do  not,  without  the  assistance  of  art. 
Theophrastus  and  Pliny  mention  this  fact;  and  in 
every  plantation  of  cultivated  dates,  one  part  of  the 
labour  of  the  cultivator  consists  in  collecting  the 
flowers  of  the  male  date,  climbing  to  the  top  of  the 
female  with  them,  and  dispersing  the  pollen  on  the 
germs  of  the  dates.  So  essential  is  this  operation, 
that  though  the  male  and  female  trees  are  growing 
in  the  same  plantation,  the  crop  fails  if  it  be  not  per- 
formed. A  very  remarkable  instance  of  this  is  related 
by  Delile,  in  his  Egyptian  Flora.  The  date-trees  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Cairo  did  not  yield  a  crop  in 
the  year  1800.  The  French  and  Turkish  troops 
having  been  fighting  all  over  the  country  in  the 
spring,  field  labour  of  every  kind  was  suspended,  and 
amongst  the  rest,  the  fecundation  of  the  date.  The 
female  date-trees  put  forth  their  branches  of  flowers 
as  usual,  but  not  one  of  them  ripened  into  edible 
fruit.  The  pollen  of  the  male  trees  appears  to  have 
been  scattered  over  the  country  by  the  winds;  and, 
as  it  had  not  been  sufficiently  abundant  for  reaching 
the  germs  so  as  to  ensure  fructification,  an  almost 
universal  failure  was  the  consequence.  The  Persians, 
according  to  the  elder  Michaux,  who  travelled  in  the 
country,  were  more  provident  than  the  Egyptians. 
In  a  civil  war,  which  was  attended  with  all  the  ruin- 
ous effects  of  anarchy,  the  male  date-trees  of  a  whole 
province  were  cut  down  by  the  invading  troops,  that 
the  fructification  of  this  necessary  of  life  might  be 
stopped.  But  the  inhabitants,  apprehending  such 
a  result,  had  been  careful  previously  to  gather  the 
pollen,  which  they  preserved  in  close  vessels;  and 
thus  they  were  enabled  to  impregnate  their  trees  when 
the  country  was  freed  from  the  destroying  army.  It 


356  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

is  said  that  the   pollen  had  thus  preserved  its  powers 
during  nineteen  years.* 

Pontanus,  an  Italian  poet  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
gives  a  glowing  description  of  a  female  date-tree, 
which  had  stood  lonely  and  ban-en,  near  Otranto,  in 
Italy,  until  a  favouring  wind  wafted  toward  it  the 
pollen  of  a  male  that  grew  at  a  distance  of  fifteen 
leagues.  Father  Lahat,  in  his  account  of  America, 
relates  a  story  of  a  date-tree  in  the  island  of  JVIarti- 
nico.  There  were  palm-trees  of  various  other  kinds 
in  the  island,  but  there  was  only  one  date-tree,  which 
grew  near  a  convent.  That  tree  produced  fruit  which 
was  grateful  enough  to  the  taste  ;  but  when  an  in- 
crease of  the  number  of  the  date-trees  was  wanted, 
not  a  single  one  would  grow  from  the  seed;  and 
thus,  after  a  number  of  unsuccessful  trials,  they  were 
obliged  to  send  to  Africa  for  dates,  the  stones  of  which 
grew  readily,  and  produced  abundantly. 

Four  or  five  months  after  the  operation  of  fecun- 
dation has  been  performed,  the  dates  begin  to  swell; 
and  when  they  have  attained  nearly  their  full  size, 
they  are  carefully  tied  to  the  base  of  the  leaves,  to 
prevent  them  from  being  beaten  and  bruised  by  the 
wind.  If  meant  to  be  preserved,  they  are  gathered 
a  little  before  they  are  ripe;  but  when  they  are  in- 
tended to  be  eaten  fresh,  they  are  allowed  to  ripen 
perfectly,  in  which  state  they  are  a  very  refreshing 
and  agreeable  fruit.  Ripe  dates  cannot,  however,  be 
kept  any  length  of  time,  or  conveyed  to  any  very 
great  distance,  without  fermenting  and  becoming 
acid  ;  and  therefore  those  which  are  intended  for 
storing  up,  or  for  being  carried  to  a  distant  market, 
are  dried  in  the  sun  upon  mats.  The  dates  which 
come  to  the  European  market  from  the  Levant  and 
Jjarbary  are  in  this  state ;  and  the  travellers  in  the  de- 

*  Annales  du  Museum, 


THE    DATE.  357 

sert  often  carry  with  them  a  little  bag  of  dried  dates, 
as  their  only  or  their  chief  subsistence  during  journeys 
of  many  hundred  miles.  In  parts  of  the  East,  the 
dates  that  fall  from  the  cultivated  trees  are  left  on 
the  ground  for  the  refreshment  of  the  wayfaring  man. 

In  the  Hedjaz,  the  new  fruit,  called  ruleb,  comes 
in  at  the  end  of  June,  and  lasts  two  months.  The 
harvest  of  dates  is  expected  with  as  much  anxiety, 
and  attended  with  as  general  rejoicing,  as  the  vintage 
of  the  south  of  Europe.  The  crop  sometimes  fails, 
or  is  destroyed  by  locusts,  and  then  a  universal 
gloom  overspreads  the  population.  The  people  do 
not  depend  upon  the  new  fruit  alone;  but  during  the 
ten  months  of  the  year  when  no  ripe  dates  can  be 
procured,  their  principal  subsistence  is  the  date-paste, 
called  adjoue,,  which  is  prepared  by  pressing  the  fruit, 
when  fully  matured,  into  large  baskets.  "  What  is 
the  price  of  dates  at  Mekka  or  Medina?"  is  always 
the  first  question  asked  by  a  Bedouin  who  meets  a 
passenger  on  the  road.* 

There  is,  indeed,  hardly  any  part  of  the  tree  which 
is  not  serviceable  to  man,  either  as  a  necessary  or  a 
luxury.  When  the  fruit  is  completely  ripened,  it  will, 
by  strong  pressure,  yield  a  delicious  syrup,  which 
serves  for  preserving  dates  and  other  fruits;  or  the 
fruit  may  be  made  into  jellies  and  tarts.  The  stalks 
of  the  bunches  of  dates,  hard  as  they  are  in  their 
natural  state,  as  well  as  the  kernels,  are  softened  by 
boiling,  and  in  that  condition  are  used  for  feeding 
cattle.  Dates,  with  the  addition  of  water,  afford  by 
distillation  a  very  good  ardent  spirit,  which,  as  it 
does  not  come  within  the  prohibition  of  the 
Koran  against  wine,  is  much  used  in  some  of  the 
Mahommedan  countries,  and  answers  the  same 
purpose  of  false  excitement  as  the  brandy  or  the 
malt  spirits  of  other  nations.  Palm  wine  is  also 
*  Burckhardt's  Arabia. 

VOL.    II.  13 


358  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

made  from  the  date :  this  is  also  without  the  statute 
of  the  Prophet.  It  is  known  in  Egypt  by  the  name 
of  lakhlsy.  It  is  the  sap  or  juice  of  the  tree,  and 
can  only  be  obtained  by  its  destruction;  so  that  such 
trees  only  as  are  unproductive  are  selected  for  ob- 
taining it.  The  time  chosen  for  this  purpose  is  when 
the  tree  is  in  the  most  active  state  of  vegetation. 
The  crown  is  then  cut  off,  and  a  cavity  scooped  in 
the  top  of  the  trunk.  As  the  sap  rises,  it  exudes  into 
this  cavity,  at  the  rate  of  nearly  a  gallon  a  day  for 
the  first  two  weeks;  after  which  it  gradually  dimi- 
nishes; and  at  the  end  of  six  weeks  or  two  months 
it  stops  entirely,  and  the  tree,  which  has  become  by 
the  operation  completely  dry,  is  cut  down  for  fire- 
wood, or  for  any  other  of  the  purposes  to  which  the 
trunk  of  the  palm  is  applied.  When  the  juice  first 
exudes  from  the  tree,  it  is  remarkably  sweet,  but  it 
soon  ferments  and  becomes  vinous,  with  a  certain 
degree  of  acidity.  This  juice  may  also  be  distilled 
into  an  ardent  spirit;  in  fact,  the  genuine  arrack,  or 
rack,  of  the  East  is  obtained  from  the  juice  of  palms. 
In  Egypt  and  Arabia  the  date-trees  that  have  be- 
come unproductive,  through  age  or  any  other  cir- 
cumstance, are  commonly  disposed  of  in  this  manner. 
What  is  called  the  cabbage  of  the  palm  is  esculent  in 
many  of  the  species,  and  in  the  date  among  others. 
The  cabbage  is  a  conical  tuft  in  the  centre  of  the 
crown  of  leaves,  and  is  formed  of  the  future  leaves 
in  their  undeveloped  state.  When  the  outside  is 
removed,  this  part  of  the  date-tree  tastes  very  much 
like  a  fresh  chesnut;  but,  like  the  palm  juice,  it  is 
costly,  being  obtained  only  by  the  destruction  of  the 
tree;  and  therefore  it  is  not  used  except  in  those 
trees  which  are  cut  for  the  sake  of  the  sap  or  juice. 

The  fibrous  parts  of  the  date-tree  are  made  into 
ropes,  baskets,  mats,  and  various  other  articles  of 
domestic  use.:  and  so  are  the  strings  or  stalks  that 


THE    DATE.  369 

bear  the  dates.  The  cordage  of  the  ships  navigating 
the  Red  Sea  is  almost  exclusively  of  the  inner  fibrous 
bark  of  the  date-tree.  The  trunk  answers  very  well 
for  posts,  railings,  and  other  coarse  purposes;  but  it 
is  not  fit  for  being  worked  into  planks,  as  the  fibrous 
nature  of  it  makes  it  easily  split  lengthwise  into 
threads.  The  medullary  part  is  much  more  abun- 
dant and  soft  toward  the  centre  of  the  tree  than 
toward  the  circumference;  and,  therefore,  when  it 
is  to  be  used  as  timber,  the  trunk  is  generally  cleft 
in  two,  down  the  middle,  for  the  purpose  of  allowing 
the  heart  to  dry  and  harden. 

The  medullary  part  of  the  date-tree  is  partly  fari- 
naceous, and  soluble  in  water ;  and  a  nutritious 
substance  may  be  obtained  from  it,  resembling  in 
consistency  the  sago  which  is  obtained  from  another 
kind  of  palm.  In  the  proper  date-tree,  however,  it 
is  small  in  quantity,  and  by  no  means  good  in  quality. 
From  another,  and  a  much  smaller  species,  (Phoenix 
farinifera^)  which  is  a  native  of  the  East  Indies,  the 
supply  is  much  more  abundant.  This  farinaceous 
date-tree  grows  upon  the  dry  and  sandy  parts  of  the 
east  or  Coromandel  coast  of  the  peninsula  of  Hin- 
dostan.  It  is  a  very  low  tree,  or  rather  a  great  leafy 
bush ;  for  the  trunk  is  never  above  a  foot  and  a  half  or 
two  feet  in  height,  and  the  leaves  completely  conceal 
it.  This  palm  is  of  a  much  deeper  green,  and  has 
the  leaves  much  narrower,  than  those  of  the  date. 
It  fruits  and  flowers  nearly  in  the  same  manner. 
The  berries  are  about  the  size  of  kidney  beans,  and 
of  a  shining  black;  they  have  not  much  pulp,  but 
what  they  have  is  sweet  and  mealy.  In  times  of 
scarcity  the  natives  of  Hindostan  have  recourse  to 
the  wood  of  this  palm  for  food.  When  the  stem  is 
divested  of  the  leaves,  and  of  the  brown  fibrous 
matter  with  which  their  roots  are  enveloped,  it  is 
about  eighteen  inches  long,  and  six  in  diameter 


360  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

where  thickest.  The  outside  of  it  consists  of  woody 
fibres,  of  a  white  colour,  and  very  much  matted 
together,  and  within  these  the  farinaceous  matter  is 
contained.  To  obtain  that,  the  natives  split  the 
trunk  into  longitudinal  pieces,  dry  them,  beat  them 
in  mortars,  and  then  sift  the  mass  to  separate  the 
fibres.  After  this,  the  farina  is  ready  for  being 
boiled  into  gruel,  or  congee,  as  it  is  called  in  India; 
but  it  is  bitter,  and  far  inferior  to  sago.  It  has,  how- 
ever, occasionally  been  of  much  use,  and  saved  the 
lives  of  the  people  at  times  when  famine  has  threat- 
ened them  with  destruction. 

The  true  sago  palm  of  Asia  (Sagus)  offers  a 
greater  quantity  of  nourishing  matter  than  is  fur- 
nished by  any  other  plant,  except  the  banana.  The 
single  trunk  of  a  tree  of  this  species,  in  its  fifteenth 
year,  sometimes  furnishes  six  hundred  pounds  of 
sago.  In  the  dialect  of  Amboyna  the  word  sago 
signifies  farini  (meal).  Mr.  Crawford  in  his  '  His- 
tory of  the  Indian  Archipelago,'  has  calculated  that  a 
single  acre  of  land  will  support  four  hundred  and 
thirty-five  sago  palms,  which  will  annually  produce 
120,5001bs.  of  sago. 

The  northern  bank  of  the  Orinoco,  the  great  river 
of  South  America,  is  covered  with  palms  of  the 
Mauritia,  which  also  produce  farinaceous  matter,  or 
sago.  The  whole  country  in  which  they  abound  is 
subject  to  inundations;  and  the  fan-like  branches  of 
these  trees  look  like  a  forest  which  rises  out  of  the 
bosom  of  the  waters.  The  navigator  who  passes 
along  the  delta  of  the  Orinoco  is  surprised  to  see  the 
tops  of  these  'trees  lighted  with  fires.  They  are 
kindled  by  a  people  (the  Guanacas)  who  have  re- 
mained for  ages  in  these  marshy  districts, — secured 
from  the  floods  by  living  in  the  palms.  In  the 
branches  they  suspend  mats,  which  they  fill  with 
clay,  and  on  this  damp  hearth  kindle  the  fires  which 


THE    DATE.  361 

are  necessary  for  their  comfort.  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
saw  and  described  these  people.  The  palm  offers  to 
this  rude  race,  as  well  as  to  other  tribes  who  inhabit 
the  Gulph  of  Darien  and  the  watery  lands  between 
the  Guarapitha  and  the  mouths  of  the  Amazon,  a 
safe  habitation  amidst  the  great  inundations  to  which 
those  countries  are  subject.  But  it  affords  them  also, 
in  its  fruit,  its  farinaceous  bark,  its  sap  abounding 
with  sugar,  and  its  fibrous  stalks, — pleasant  food  to 
eat,  wine  to  drink,  and  thread  to  make  cordage  and 
hammocks.  "  It  is  curious  to  behold,"  says  Hum- 
boldt,  "  in  the  lowest  stage  of  human  civilization,  the 
existence  of  a  whole  race  depending  upon  a  single 
species  of  palm,  in  a  similar  degree  with  those  in- 
sects which  subsist  but  upon  one  species  of  flower."* 

Even  the  leaves  of  the  date-palm  have  their  uses  ; 
their  great  length  and  comparatively  small  breadth, 
and  their  toughness,  render  them  very  good  materials 
for  the  construction  of  coarse  ropes,  baskets,  panniers, 
and  mats.  On  the  continent  of  Europe,  palm- 
branches  are  a  regular  article  of  trade  ;  and  the  reli- 
gious processions,  both  of  Christians  and  Jews,  in 
the  greater  part  of  Europe,  are  supplied  from  some 
palm-forests  near  the  shores  of  the  Gulph  of  Genoa. 

The  cultivation  of  the  date-tree  is  an  object  of 
high  importance  in  the  countries  of  the  East.  In 
the  interior  of  Barbary,  in  great  part  of  Egypt,  in 
the  more  dry  districts  of  Syria,  and  in  Arabia,  it  is 
almost  the  sole  subject  of  agriculture.  In  the  valleys 
of  the  Hedjaz  there  are  more  than  a  hundred  kinds 
of  dates,  each  of  which  is  peculiar  to  a  district,  and 
has  its  own  peculiar  virtues.  Date-trees  pass  from 
one  person  to  another  in  the  course  of  trade,  and  are 
sold  by  the  single  tree  ;  and  the  price  paid  to  a  girl's 
father,  on  marrying  her,  often  consists  of  date-trees.f 

The  palm  is  not  wholly  confined  to  the  warmer 

*  Voyages,  liv.  viii.  chap.  xxiv.    .     t  Burckhardt's  Arabia. 

vor.   ii.  13* 


362  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

latitudes,  though  in  those  only  it  matures  its  fruit. 
There  are  greenhouse  specimens  in  many  parts  of 
England.  Some  of  the  more  luxuriant  parts  of  the 
province  of  Valencia,  in  the  south-east  of  Spain,  have 
very  fine  forests  of  date-palms,  from  which,  as  well 
as  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Genoa,  palm-branches 
are  exported.  There  are  date-palms  upon  the  coast 
of  Gallicia,  near  Ferrol  and  Corunna  ;  but  the  fruit 
on  them  does  not  come  to  maturity.  There  is  abun- 
dance of  palms  in  the  gardens  of  Naples  ;  and  they 
are  still  finer  and  more  numerous  in  that  part  of 
Sicily  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Palermo,  which, 
from  the  fertility  ot  its  soil,  and  the  variety  and 
beauty  of  its  productions,  has  the  name  of  "  the 
golden  shell."  They  are  also  to  be  met  with  in 
some  parts  of  the  south  of  France,  though  they 
rarely,  if  ever,  ripen  their  fruit  in  that  country.  There 
are,  in  particular,  two  very  majestic  specimens  grow- 
ing in  the  open  air  in  the  Botanical  Garden  at  Tou- 
lon; but  these,  so  far  as  we  have  heard,  have  not  yet 
flowered.  As  greenhouse  plants,  with  heat  in  the 
colder  season,  they  have  been  introduced  into  Eng- 
land for  about  a  century  ;  and  the  celebrated  Mille*-, 
of  the  Botanical  Garden  at  Chelsea,  is  reported  to 
have  been  the  first  cultivator.  The  Messrs.  Lod- 
diges,  of  Hackney,  have  palms  of  considerable 
height  growing  under  glass  ;  there  are  also  some 
fine  palms  at  the  Botanical  Garden  at  Kew. 

The  date-palm  is  a  very  slow  growing  tree  ;  and 
even  in  the  soil  and  climate  that  are  most  congenial, 
old  trees  do  not  gain  above  a  foot  in  height  in  five 
years,  so  that,  supposing  the  increase  uniform,  the 
age  of  a  tree,  sixty  feet  high,  cannot  be  less  than 
three  hundred  years.  Dr.  Shaw  says  that  the  palm 
of  Barbary  usually  falls  about  the  latter  end  of  its 
second  century. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Fruits  common  to  most  countries  within  or  near  the  tropics.  Plantain, 
or  Banana;  Tamarind;  Guava.  Fruits  of  Africa.  Akee ;  Negro 
Peach  ;  Monkey's  Bread. 

THE  plantain,  or  banana  (though  they  are  thought 
by  some  to  be  distinct  species),  are  generally  spoken 
of  together,  as  having  more  points  of  resemblance 
than  of  dissimilarity.  They  grow  in  the  same  re- 
gions, and  are  applied  to  the  same  uses. 

THE  PLANTAIN — Musa  paradisiaca. 

The  Plantain  is  of  considerable  size  :  it  rises  with 
a  herbaceous  stalk,  about  five  or  six  inches  in  dia- 
meter at  the  surface  of  the  ground,  but  tapering 
upwards  to  the  height  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet.  The 
leaves  are  in  a  cluster  at  the  top  ;  they  are  very  large, 
being  about  six  feet  long  and  two  feet  broad  :  the 
middle  rib  is  strong,  but  the  rest  of  the  leaf  is  tender, 
and  apt  to  be  torn  by  the  wind.  The  leaves  grow 
with  great  rapidity  after  the  stalk  has  attained  its 
proper  height.  The  spike  of  flowers  rises  from  the 
centre  of  the  leaves  to  the  height  of  about  four  feet. 
At  first  the  flowers  are  enclosed  in  a  sheath,  but,  as 
they  come  to  maturity,  that  drops  off".  The  fruit  is 
about  an  inch  in  diameter,  eight  or  nine  inches  long, 
and  bent  a  little  on  one  side.  As  it  ripens  it  turns 
yellow  ;  and  when  ripe,  it  is  filled  with  a  pulp  of  a 
luscious  sweet  taste. 


364 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


The  Plantain— (Musa  paradisiaca). 

THE  BANANA — Musa  sapientum. 

The  Banana  is  a  shorter  and  rounder  fruit  than 
the  plantain  :  the  stem  is  also  different, — that  of  the 
plantain  being  wholly  green,  while  the  banana  is 
spotted  with  purple.  The  banana  is  not  so  luscious 
as  the  plantain,  but  it  is  more  agreeable. 

Having  thus  observed  the  slight  differences  in  these 
plants,  we  shall  proceed  to  their  general  character  ; — 
in  which  notice  we  shall  confine  ourselves  to  the  use 
of  the  word  banana. 

The  banana,  as  we  have  indicated  by  the  heading 
of  this  chapter,  is  not  the  property  of  any  particular 
country  of  the  torrid  zone,  but  offers  its  produce 
indifferently  to  the  inhabitants  of  equinoctial  Asia  and 
America,  of  tropical  Africa,  and  of  the  islands  of  the 


THE    BANANA. 


365 


The  Banana — (Musa  sapientum). 

Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  Wherever  the  mean 
heat  of  the  year  exceeds  75°  of  Farenheit,  the  banana 
is  one  of  the  most  important  and  interesting  objects 
for  the  cultivation  of  man.  All  hot  countries  appear 
equally  to  favour  the  growth  of  its  fruit;  and  it  has 
even  been  cultivated  in  Cuba,  in  situations  where  the 
thermometer  descends  to  45°  of  Farenheit.  Its 
produce,  as  already  mentioned,  is  enormous.  The 
banana,  therefore,  for  an  immense  portion  of  man- 
kind, is  what  wheat,  barley,  and  rye  are  for  the  inha- 
bitants of  Western  Asia  and  Europe,  and  what  the 
numerous  varieties  of  rice  are  for  those  of  the  coun- 
tries beyond  the  Indus.* 

The  banana  is  not  known  in  an  uncultivated  state. 
The  wildest   tribes  of  South  America,  who  depend 

*  Humboldt's  Political  Essay  on  New  Spain — Black's  Trans- 
lation, vol.  ii. 


366          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

upon  this  fruit  for  their  subsistence,  propagate  the 
plant  by  suckers.  Yet  an  all  bountiful  Nature  is,  in 
this  case,  ready  to  diminish  the  labours  of  man — 
perhaps  too  ready  for  the  proper  developement  of  his 
energies  both  physical  and  moral.  Eight  or  nine 
months  after  the  sucker  has  been  planted,  the  banana 
begins  to  form  its  clusters;  and  the  fruit  may  be 
collected  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  months.  When 
the  stalk  is  cut,  the  fruit  of  which  has  ripened,  a 
sprout  is  '  put  forth,  which  again  bears  fruit  in  three 
months.  The  whole  labour  of  cultivation  which  is 
required  for  a  plantation  of  bananas  is  to  cut  the 
stalks  laden  with  ripe  fruit  and  to  give  the  plants  a 
slight  nourishment,  once  or  twice  a  year,  by  digging 
round  the  roots.  A  spot  of  a  little  more  than  a 
thousand  square  feet  will  contain  from  thirty  to  forty 
banana  plants.  A  cluster  of  bananas  produced  on  a 
single  plant,  often  contains  from  one  hundred  and 
sixty  to  one  hundred  and  eighty  fruits,  and  weighs 
from  seventy  to  eighty  pounds.  But  reckoning  the 
weight  of  a  cluster  only  at  forty  pounds,  such  a  plan- 
tation would  produce  more  than  four  thousand  pounds 
of  nutritive  substance.  M.  Humboldt  calculates 
that  as  thirty-three  pounds  of  wheat  and  ninety-nine 
pounds  of  potatoes  require  the  same  space  as  that 
in  which  four  thousand  pounds  of  bananas  are  grown, 
the  produce  of  bananas  is  consequently  to  that  of 
wheat  as  133:  1,  and  to  that  of  potatoes  as  44:  1. 

The  banana  ripened  in  the  hothouses  of  Europe 
has  an  insipid  taste ;  but  yet  the  natives  of  both  Indies, 
to  many  millions  of  whom  it  supplies  their  principal 
food,  eat  it  with  avidity,  and  are  satisfied  with 
the  nourishment  it  affords.  This  fruit  is  a  very 
sugary  substance;  and  in  warm  countries  the  natives 
find  such  food  not  only  satisfying  for  the  moment, 
but  permanently  nutritive.  Yet  weight  for  weight, 


THE    BANANA.  367 

the  nutritive  matter  of  the  banana  cannot  at  all  be 
compared  to  that  of  wheat,  or  even  of  potatoes.  At 
the  same  time,  a  much  greater  number  of  individuals 
may  be  supported  upon  the  produce  of  a  piece  of 
ground  planted  with  bananas,  compared  with  a  piece 
of  the  same  size  in  Europe  growing  wheat.  Hum- 
boldt  estimates  the  proportion  as  twenty-five  to  one; 
and  he  illustrates  the  fact  by  remarking  that  a  Euro- 
pean, newly  arrived  in  the  torrid  zone,  is  struck  with 
nothing  so  much  as  the  extreme  smallness  of  the 
spots  under  cultivation  round  a  cabin  which  contains 
a  numerous  family  of  Indians. 

The  ripe  fruit  of  the  banana  is  preserved,  like  the 
fig,  by  being  dried  in  the  sun.  This  dried  banana  is 
an  agreeable  and  healthy  aliment.  Meal  is  extracted 
from  the  fruit,  by  cutting  it  in  slices,  drying  it  in  the 
sun,  and  then  pounding  it. 

The  facility  with  which  the  banana  can  be  culti- 
vated has  doubtless  contributed  to  arrest  the  pro- 
gress of  improvement  in  tropical  regions.  In  the 
new  continent  civilization  first  commenced  on  the 
mountains,  in  a  soil  of  inferior  fertility.  Necessity 
awakens  industry,  and  industry  calls  forth  the  intellec- 
tual powers  of  the  human  race.  When  these  are 
developed,  man  does  not  sit  in  a  cabin,  gathering  the 
fruits  of  his  little  patch  of  bananas  asking  no  greater 
luxuries,  and  proposing  no  higher  ends  of  life  than 
to  eat  and  to  sleep.  He  subdues  to  his  use  all  the 
treasures  of  the  earth  by  his  labour  and  his  skill; — 
and  he  carries  his  industry  forward  to  its  utmost 
limits,  by  the  consideration  that  he  has  active  duties 
to  perform.  The  idleness  of  the  poor  Indian  keeps 
him,  where  he  has  been  for  ages,  little  elevated  above 
the  inferior  animal; — the  industry  of  the  European, 
under  his  colder  skies,  and  with  a  less  fertile  soil, 
has  surrounded  him  with  all  the  blessings  of  society — 


368  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

its   comforts,  its   affections,    its   virtues,  and  its  intel- 
lectual riches. 

In  a  very  interesting  and  instructive  paper  by 
Mr.  John  Lindley,  '  On  the  Tropical  Fruits  likely 
to  be  worth  cultivating  in  England,'*  it  is  stated, 
upon  the  authority  of  Mr.  Crawford,  that  some  of 
the  varieties  of  the  banana  possess  an  exquisite  fla- 
vour surpassing  the  finest-  pear;  and  that  others  in 
the  East  Indies  have  been  compared  to  an  excellent 
reinette  apple,  atter  its  sweetness  has  been  con- 
densed by  keeping  through  the  winter.  Of  these 
varieties  there  are  so  many,  that  they  would  be  as 
difficult  to  describe  as  the  sorts  of  apples  and  pears 
of  Europe.  The  banana  has  frequently  produced  its 
bunches  of  yellow  fruit  in  hothouses  in  this  king- 
dom; particularly  at  Wynnstay,  the  seat  of  Sir  W.  W. 
Wynn;  and  at  Messrs.  Loddiges',  at  Hackney:  and, 
according  to  Mr.  Lindley,  "  it  appears  probable  that 
there  will  be  as  little  difficulty  in  ripening  the  fruit, 
as  that  of  any  tropical  tree  whatever." 

THE  TAMARIND — Tamarindus  Indica. 

The  tamarind-tree  is  a  native  both  of  the  East 
Indies  and  of  tropical  America,  and  probably  also  of 
Arabia  and  some  parts  of  Africa.  It  was  very  early 
introduced  into  this  country;  for  Gerarde,  whose 
Herbal  was  published  in  1633,  makes  mention  of 
it  as  growing  here.  It  does  not  often  flower  in 
England,  though  it  has  done  so  in  the  Royal  Gardens 
at  Kew.  It  is,  however,  a  common  ornament  of  our 
hothouses.  Where  it  is  a  native,  it  grows  to  be  a 
large  tree,  and  affords  excellent  timber — heavy,  firm, 
hard,  and  durable.  The  stem  is  large,  covered  with 
brown  bark,  and  divides  into  many  branches;  the 

*    Hort.  Trans.,  vol.  v. 


THE    TAMARIND. 


S69 


The  Tamarind — (Tamarindus  indica.) 

leaves  are  not  unlike  those  of  the  mountain  ash,  only 
they  are  of  a  brighter  green,  and  the  leafets  are 
closer  to  the  mid-rib.  The  leaflets  are  small,  but  the 
number  in  a  leaf  (sixteen  or  eighteen  pairs  in  a  leaf, 
with  an  odd  one  at  the  extremity)  give  the  tree  a  very 
light  and  elegant  appearance.  The  flowers  come  out 
from  the  sides  of  the  branches  in  loose  bunches,  and 
are  followed  by  the  pods,  of  which  there  are  gene- 
rally about  five  or  six  on  a  bunch.  The  pods  of  the 
West  India  tamarinds  are,  on  an  average,  about  three 
inches  long,  and  contain  about  three  seeds  ;  those 
from  the  East  are  about  double  the  size. 

The  pulp  in  which  the  seeds  of  the  tamarind  are 
inclosed,  contains  more  acid  than  any  other  vegetable 
substance,  in  a  natural  state,  with  which  we  are 
acquainted  ;  and  therefore  it  is  used  both  for  sharp- 
ening food  and  drink;  and  for  medicinal  purposes. 
Niebuhr  says,  "  the  tamarind  is  equally  useful  and 
agreeable.  It  has  a  pulp  of  a  vinous  taste,  of  which 
a  wholesome  refreshing  liquor  is  prepared;  its  shade 
shelters  houses  from  the  torrid  heat  of  the  sun;  and 


VOL.    II. 


14 


370  VEGETABLE     SUBSTANCES. 

its  fine  figure  greatly  adorns  the  scenery  of  the 
country."  Its  refreshing  properties  has  given  it  a 
place  in  our  poetry: 

"  The  damsel  from  the  tamarind-tree 
Had  pluck'd  its  acid  fruit, 
And  steep'd  it  in  water  long  ; 
And  whoso  drank  of  the  cooling  draught, 
He  would  not  wish  for  wine."* 

Mandelslo,  an  old  traveller,  says,  that  as  soon  as  the 
sun  is  set  the  leaves  of  the  tamarind  close  up  the 
fruit  to  preserve  it  from  the  dew,  and  open  as  soon 
as  that  luminary  appears  again : 

"  'Tis  the  cool  evening  hour  : 
The  tamarind,  from  the  dew 
Sheaths  its  young  fruit,  yet  green. "t 

The  East  India  tamarinds  are  preserved  without 
sugar,  and  therefore  they  are  the  best  for  medicinal 
use.  About  forty  tons  of  tamarinds  are  annually  im- 
ported into  Great  Britain. 


THE  GUAVA — Psidium  pyriferum. 

The  botanists  enumerate  eight  or  nine  species  of 
the  guava,  some  of  them  natives  of  the  East  Indies, 
and  other  parts  of  Asia;  some  of  the  West  Indies; 

*  Thalaba,  t  Ibid. 


THE    GUAVA.  371 

and  others,  among  which  are  the  kinds  most  valued 
as  fruit,  common  to  both  continents. 

The  white  Guava  (Psidium  pyriferum)  is  the 
best  and  also  the  most  abundant  in  the  West  Indies. 
When  wild,  the  white  guava  is  a  shrub  rather  than  a 
tree,  as  it  seldom  exceeds  eight  or  nine  feet  in  height; 
but,  when  introduced  into  gardens,  it  attains  the  size 
of  an  ordinary  apple-tree,  with  a  trunk  about  six  feet 
high,  and  six  inches  in  diameter.  The  wood  is  very 
hard  and  tough;  the  leaves  are  from  two  to  three 
inches  long,  and  grow  in  pairs  opposite  each  other; 
the  flower  is  white,  and  has  a  very  agreeable  flavour; 
the  fruit  is  rather  bigger  than  a  hen's  egg,  of  a  sul- 
phureous yellow,  very  smooth,  and  has  a  peculiar 
smell;  it  is  covered  with  a  rind  of  some  thickness, 
within  which  are  the  seeds,  contained  in  a  pulp  with- 
out any  shell.  The  pulp  is  flesh  coloured,  sweet, 
aromatic,  and  very  grateful  to  the  palate.  It  is  used 
as  a  dessert  fruit,  and  also  preserved  with  sugar;  and 
guava  jelly  is  esteemed  one  of  the  finest  conserves 
that  come  from  the  West  Indies.  By  proper  culture 
it  may  be  brought  to  be  a  large  and  handsome  tree; 
but  when  wild,  it  remains  shrubby,  and  overruns  the 
land. 

The  red  Guava  (Psidium  pomiferum)  is  a  much 
larger  tree  than  the  white ;  the  trunk  often  attaining 
the  height  of  twenty  feet.  On  poor  soils,  however,  it 
is  apt  to  be  rugged  and  shrubby.  The  leaves  are  of 
a  light  green ;  the  flowers  white ;  the  fruit  shaped  like 
a  pomegranate,  and  having  an  agreeable  odour  when 
ripe.  As  a  fruit,  however,  many  of  the  authorities 
represent  it  as  being  very  much  inferior  to  the  white 
guava:  but  it  is  probable  that  they  have  found  it  in 
the  wild  state,  for  it  appears  to  be  much  improved  by 
culture. 

The  mountain  guava,  found  in  the  woods  of  Ja- 
maica, is  not  much  esteemed  as  a  fruit  tree;  but  it 


372  VEGETABLE     SUBSTANCES. 

grows  to  a  large  size  ;  the  wood  is  of  a  beautiful 
dark  colour,  finely  curled,  easily  worked,  susceptible 
of  a  high  polish,  and  therefore  much  valued  as  a 
timber-tree. 

In  a  paper  read  to  the  Horticultural  Society,  Mr. 
Cattley  of  Barnet,  gives  an  account  of  a  previously 
undescribed  species  of  guava.  The  fruit  is  nearly 
spherical,  of  a  fine  deep  claret  colour,  growing  at  the 
insertion  of  the  leaves,  and  contains  from  twenty  to 
thirty  seeds,  inclosed  in  a  pulp,  which  is  sweet,  and 
slightly  acid.  Independently  of  the  value  and  beauty 
of  the  fruit,  this  is  a  highly  ornamental  plant,  may 
be  propagated  freely  by  cuttings,  and  bears  at  the 
age  of  eighteen  months.  It  is  understood  to  have 
come  from  South  America,  and  has  an  external  texture 
resembling  the  fig:  its  internal  consistence  and  fla- 
vour bear  a  considerable  resemblance  to  those  of  the 
strawberry.  With  proper  treatment,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  free  growing  of  all  the  tropical  fruits. 

This  guava,  which  has  received  the  name  of 
Psidium  cattleyanum ,  promises  to  become  a  very 
valuable  addition  to  stone  fruits;  and,  both  for  its 
appearance  and  its  flavour,  merits  attention.  There 
is  a  specimen  in  one  of  the  hot-houses  belonging  to 
the  Horticultural  Society,  which  is  as  thriving  and 
elegant  a  tree  as  can  well  be  imagined.  The  tree  is 
about  ten  feet  high,  and  trained  something  in  the 
fan  shape,  till  the  outside  branches  have  a  width  of 
sixteen  feet.  The  bark  of  the  tree  is  of  a  soft  ash 
colour,  with  a  very  slight  trace  of  brown,  and  smooth, 
but  not  glossy.  The  leaves  are  beautiful  and  vigo- 
rous, and,  when  we  last  saw  it  (18th  May),  a  great 
profusion  of  well  set  fruit  was  in  progress — a  greater 
number,  indeed,  than  we  recollect  ever  to  have  seen 
upon  any  other  delicate  hot -house  tree.  That  the 
fruit  would,  properly  managed,  come  to  the  same 
maturity  in  the  average  of  situations,  in  this  country, 


THE    AKEE.  373 

as  in  those  places  of  which  it  is  a  native,  there  cannot 
be  the  least  doubt  ;  and  it  has  this  advantage  over 
most  other  fruit  trees,  whether  indigenous  or  exotic, 
that  it  produces  two  crops  in  the  year. 

We  have  already  had  to  describe  many  fruits  which 
are  indigenous  to  Jlfrica,  in  noticing  those  of  the 
temperate  climates.  As  we  leave  the  northern  parts 
of  that  continent,  and  approach  the  Equator,  the 
date,  the  vine,  and  the  fig,  are  no  longer  seen. 
There  is,  indeed,  a  fruit,  that  of  the  Lote-tree 
(Rhamnus  lotus),  which  bears  some  resemblance 
to  the  berries  of  Europe,  and  which  Mungo  Park 
described  as  excellent.  This  plant  is  raised  in  our 
green-houses.  The  Cream-fruit  of  Sierra  Leone, 
described  by  Dr.  Afzelius  to  the  African  Society, 
grows  on  a  lofty  tree,  and  yields  a  quantity  of  fine 
white  juice,  from  which  it  obtains  its  name.  The 
fruits  of  the  interior  of  Africa  have  been  but  little 
examined  by  Europeans  ;  and  their  very  names  are 
unknown  to  us,  with  a  few  exceptions.  They  are, 
probably,  of  little  worth.  Of  those  that  have  not 
been  found  in  any  other  quarter  of  the  world,  the 
most  singular  are  the  following  : — 

THE  AKEE — Blighia  sapida. 

This  is  a  native  of  Guinea,  from  whence  it  was 
carried  to  Jamaica  by  Captain  Bligh  in  1793.  It 
has  grown  well  in  the  West  Indies,  and  is  there 
much  esteemed  as  a  fruit.  It  was  introduced  into 
England  in  1793.  The  leaves  of  the  akee  are  some- 
thing similar  to  those  of  the  ash  :  the  flowers  are 
small  and  white,  and  are  produced  in  branched 
spikes.  The  fruit  is  oblong,  ribbed,  and  compressed 
in  the  middle,  of  a  dull  orange  colour,  and  contains 
several  large  seeds,  to  the  end  of  which  is  attached 

VOL   n.  14* 


374          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 


The  Akee — (BUg/iia  sapida). 

a  rich  and  slightly  acid  arillus  (the  outer  coat  of  a 
seed  lightly  attached  to  it),  which  is  the  part  eaten. 

THE  NEGRO  PEACH,  OR  EDIBLE  PEACH. 

The  tree  on  which  the  negro  peach  is  produced  is 
very  handsome,  with  lanceolate  leaves,  resembling 
those  of  the  orange.  The  flowers  are  white,  and 
grow  closely  clustered  in  little  round  heads,  like 
those  of  the  American  button-wood,  so  common  in 
shrubberies.  The  tree  has  flowered  in  the  gardens 
of  the  Horticultural  Society,  but  has  not  borne  fruit 
in  this  country.  The  fruit  is  about  the  size  of  an 
ordinary  peach,  but  very  different  in  colour  and  qua- 
lities. Externally  and  internally  it  is  brown,  of  vary- 
ing shades  :  its  form  is  irregular,  and  the  whole 
surface  covered  with  tubercles.  About  one-third  of 
the  diameter  in  the  centre  consists  of  a  very  firm  and 
somewhat  dry  pulp,  of  a  flavour  resembling  an  apple. 
Between  that  and  the  rind,  the  pulp  is  of  softer  con- 
sistency, full  of  seeds  and  fibres,  and  has  a  flavour 
resembling  the  strawberry. 


MONKEY'S  BREAD.  375 


MONKEY'S  BREAD — Adansoma  digitata. 

This  tree  is  a  native  of  the  western  coast  of  Africa, 
and  also  of  Egypt.  In  the  former  country  it  is  de- 
scribed by  Adanson  as  being  a  tree  of  large  dimen- 
sions and  singular  economy.  The  trunks  were  about 
twelve  or  fourteen  feet  high,  but  of  the  vast  circum- 
ference of  sixty  or  seventy  feet.  The  lateral  branches 
were  forty  or  fifty  feet  long,  of  the  thickness  of  a 
great  tree,  and  with  their  remote  branches  touching 
the  ground  ;  while  some  of  the  roots  that  had  been 
laid  bare  were  upwards  of  a  hundred  feet  long,  and 
even  then  were  not  exposed  for  their  whole  length. 
The  fruit  is  from  nine  to  twelve  inches  long,  and 
about  four  in  diameter,  of  a  brownish  colour,  and 
rather  pointed  toward  the  extremities.  The  pulp  is 
a  little  farinaceous,  mixed  with  fibres  :  when  recent, 
it  has  a  very  refreshing,  acid  taste  ;  and  eaten  with 
sugar,  it  is  both  pleasant  and  wholesome.  It  retains 
its  cooling  qualities  when  dry  ;  and,  on  that  account, 
the  physicians  of  Cairo  administer  it  in  fevers  and 
other  diseases. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Fruits  of  the  West  India  Islands,  and  the  South  American  Continent. — 
Pine-Apple;  Mammee;  Alligator-Pear;  Anchovy  Pear;  Custard -Apples  ; 
Wild  Plums;  Star-Apple;  Cactus;  Papaw;  Grenadillas ;  Cocoa- 
Nut;  Cashew-Nut;  Juvia. 


THE  PINE-APPLE — Bromelia. 

THE  earliest  exchanges  of  tropical  plants  that  took 
place  between  the  Portuguese  in  the  east,  and  the 
Spaniards  in  the  west,  have  not  been  recorded  with 


THE    PINE    APPLE.  377 

perfect  accuracy,  so  that  we  are  not  absolutely  certain 
that  the  pine-apple  may  not  be  a  native  of  some  parts 
of  Asia,  and  even  of  Africa,  as  well  as  of  America. 
That  it  is  a  native  of  the  West  is  certain,  however,  as 
all  the  varieties,  except  some  of  the  trivial  ones  arising 
from  cultivation,  are  found  wild  on  the  continent  or 
the  islands  of  that  quarter  of  the  world. 

The  Bromelias  have  been  variously  described; — 
some  having  formed  them  into  three  or  four  distinct 
genera,  and  others  considered  them  as  only  species 
of  one.  In  the  Hortus  Keiuensis,  in  the  formation 
of  which  the  very  best  authorities  have  been  con- 
sulted, six  species  are  enumerated  ;  and,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Bromelia  kumilis  (dwarf,)  they  are 
all  there  represented  as  being  natives  either  of  South 
America  or  the  West  Indies.  Only  one  of  the  species 
is  of  any  value  in  cultivation,  the  others  being  merely 
wild  plants.  The  cultivated  species  is  the  Jlnanas; 
but  it  may  be  as  well  first  to  mention  the  others. 
They  are  the  pinguin,  or  broad-leaved ;  the  karata, 
or  upright-leaved ;  the  tongue-leaved,  the  red-breasted, 
and  the  dwarf. 

In  the  form  and  combination  of  their  leaves,  all 
the  bromelias  have  some  resemblance  to  each  other, 
and  also  to  the  aloe;  but  the  only  species  in  which 
the  seeds  are  united  into  one  fleshy  and  esculent 
strobile,  or  pine,  is  the  ananas. 

The  Pinguin  species  have  the  leaves  very  short 
and  strong  about  the  root,  and  their  edges  are  armed 
with  strong  crooked  spines.  The  fruits  are  detached  ; 
each  about  the  size  of  a  walnut.  The  pulp  is  sweet, 
but  it  is  at  the  same  time  so  sharp  as  to  be  absolutely- 
corrosive.  A  tuft  of  leaves  growing  above  the  fruit 
makes  the  pinguin  look  something  like  the  pine-apple, 
when  seen  at  a  distance ;  but  the  detached  fruit  soon 
distinguishes  it  upon  a  closer  inspection.  Though 
not  edible,  the  pinguin  is  not  without  its  use.  It 


378  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

grows  readily  and  abundantly  in  the  West  Indies, 
both  on  the  fertile  savannahs  and  the  mountains. 
It  is  hardy,  and  is  formidable  with  its  spines,  and 
thus  it  answers  well  for  hedges.  The  fibres  of  the 
leaves,  too,  are  very  tough  and  strong;  and,  when 
freed  from  the  pulpy  matter,  they  are  made  into 
ropes.  A  small  portion  of  the  juice  mixed  with 
water  forms  a  very  cooling  draught;  and  some  of 
the  varieties,  which  grow  so  plentifully  about  Cam- 
peachy  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  move  amongst 
them,  have  their  fruit  in  clusters,  and  are  not  un- 
palatable. 

The  Karata  grows  in  woods,  under  trees,  both  in 
the  West  Indies  and  on  the  continent  of  America. 
The  leaves  are  six  oV  seven  feet  long;  the  fruit  of  an 
oval  form,  and  from  two  to  three  hundred  in  number 
upon  a  single  plant.  Before  it  is  ripe  the  fruit  is 
sour  and  acrid,  but  when  ripe  it  is  not  unpleasant. 
Until  the  fruit  is  ripe  it  is  defended  by  the  spines  of 
the  leaves,  so  as  to  be  quite  secure  against  injury. 

The  tongue-leafed,  the  red-branched,  and  the 
dwarf,  are  smaller  species.  The  first  and  second 
very  much  resemble  some  of  the  species  of  aloe  in 
their  forms,  and  are  found  in  most  of  the  West  India 
islands. 

The  Ananas,  or  pine-apple,  properly  so  called,  is 
now  so  generally  known  in  this  country,  (being  culti- 
vated in  hot-houses  and  pits  almost  from  Cornwall 
to  Caithness,)  that  no  minute  account  of  it  is  neces- 
sary. When  of  a  good  sort  and  healthy,  it  is 
accounted  the  best,  at  least  the  most  luscious,  fruit 
that  this  country  produces;  and,  with  careful  culti- 
vation, is  equal  in  quality  to  that  of  places  where  it 
is  a  native.  It  is  said  even  to  be  superior,  because 
the  English  gardeners  may,  by  skilful  treatment  and 
choice  of  sorts,  more  than  make  up  for  the  want  of 
sun  and  the  deficiency  of  natural  temperature. 


THE    PINE-APPLE.  379 

It  has  been  said  that  the  pine-apple  was  brought 
from  Brazil,  first  to  the  West  Indies,  and  thence  to 
the  East;  but  the  evidence  is  not  complete.  It  was 
known  in  Holland  some  time  before  its  introduction 
into  this  country;  and  even  about  its  introduction 
here  there  are  some  disputes.  The  picture  of  King 
Charles  II.,  with  his  gardener  presenting  him  with  a 
pine,  said  to  be  the  first  grown  in  England,  is  re- 
jected by  the  better  informed  authorities;  and  the 
pine,  if  ever  such  a  fruit  was  offered  to  that 
monarch,  is  supposed  to  have  been  brought  from 
Holland,  or  the  pine  to  have  been  presented,  and  the 
picture  drawn,  before  his  return  to  this  country. 
Mr.  Bentinck,  the  ancestor  of  the  Duke  of  Portland, 
is,  according  to  the  best  accounts,  supposed  to  have 
first  introduced  and  cultivated  the  pine  in  the  year 
1690;  and  this  is  rendered  the  more  likely,  from  the 
fact  that  he  was  previously  acquainted  with  the  fruit 
in  Holland.  And  yet  the  cultivation  of  the  pine  had 
made  so  little  progress  in  England  a  quarter  of  a 
century  later,  that  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montagu,  on 
her  journey  to  Constantinople  in  1716,  remarks  the 
circumstance  of  pine-apples  being  served  up  in  the 
dessert,  at  the  Electoral  table  at  Hanover,  as  a  thing 
she  had  never  before  seen  or  heard  of* 

Pine-apples  have  been  grown  in  this  country  of  an 
extraordinary  size.  One  of  the  New  Providence 
kind,  that  weighed  nine  pounds,  four  ounces,  was 
presented  to  his  Majesty,  in  June,  1820,  by  John 
Edwards,  Esq.,  of  Rheola,  Glamorganshire,  where 
it  was  grown.  In  July,  1821,  another  Providence 
pine  is  mentioned,  in  the  Transactions  of  the  Horti- 
cultural Society,!  to  have  weighed  ten  pounds  eight 
ounces:  it  was  grown  by  Mr.  Buchan,  gardener  to 
Lord  Cawdor,  at  Stackpool  Court,  Pembrokeshire. 

*  Letters  of  Lady  M.  W.  Montagu.  t  Vol.  v.  p.  264 


380 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


It  was  ten  inches  and  a  half  high,  exclusive  of  the 
crown  and  stalk,  and  twenty-two  inches  in  circum- 
ference. From  the  extraordinary  size  and  beauty  of 
the  fruit,  it  was  thought  proper  by  the  Fellows  of  the 
Horticultural  Society  to  present  it  to  his  Majesty, 
which  was  accordingly  done;  and  it  was  served  up 
in  the  dessert  at  the  royal  table  at  the  Coronation 
banquet.  Mr.  Buchan  raised  three  other  pines  of 
extraordinary  weight  in  the  same  season :  one  weighed 
ten  pounds,  six  ounces;  another,  ten  pounds  two 
ounces;  and  a  third,  nine  pounds  eight  ounces; 
making  the  total  weight  of  the  four,  forty  pounds 
eight  ounces. 

In  the  Indian  Archipelago,  and  in  China,  an  extra- 


Many-headed  Pine, 


THE    MAMMEE.  381 

ordinary  monstrous  state  of  the  pine-apple  is  some- 
times seen,  called  "the  many-headed  pine."  It  is 
caused  by  the  plant  producing  branches  bearing  fruit 
at  each  point  where,  under  common  circumstances, 
it  produces  single  flowers.  There  are  fine  specimens 
preserved  in  spirits  in  the  Library  of  the  Horticul- 
tural Society,  and  the  plant  itself  is  in  their  garden. 


THE  MAMMEE — Mammea  Americana. 

The  mamrnee  is  a  native  of  the  West  Indies,  where 
it  grows  to  a  large  tree,  sixty  or  seventy  feet  in 
height.  It  is  a  handsome,  straight-growing  tree, 
with  a  spreading  head,  and  the  leaves  are  oblong 
and  obtuse,  with  very  many  fine,  closely  set,  parallel 
veins.  The  fruit  of  the  mammee  is  yellow,  not 
unlike  one  of  the  largest  russet  apples,  either  in  shape 
or  in  size.  The  skin,  which  easily  peals  off,  and  the 
seeds,  of  which  there  are  two  or  three  in  the  centre, 
are  resinous,  and  very  bitter;  but  the  pulp  under  the 
skin,  which,  when  ripe,  is  of  a  deep  yellow,  resem- 
bling that  of  the  finest  apricot,  and  of  considerable 
consistency,  is  very  fragrant,  and  has  a  delicious 
flavour.  To  people  with  weak  stomachs  it  is  said  to 
be  more  delicious  than  healthful;  but  still  it  is  highly 

VOL.    II.  15 


382          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

prized,  very  abundant  in  the  West  India  markets, 
and  accounted  one  of  the  best  native  fruits  they 
have.  The  mammee  was  found  by  Don  in  the  vici- 
nity of  Sierra  Leone;  but  whether  native  there,  or 
imported  from  America,  cannot  be  ascertained.  It 
was  introduced  into  England  in  1 735. 


THE  ALLIGATOR  PEAR — Laurus  Persea. 

The  Avocado,  or  Alligator  Pear,  grows  upon  a 
tree  about  the  size  of  the  common  apple.  It  is  a 
native  of  the  West  Indies.  The  leaves  are  oblong 
and  veiny,  the  flowers  of  a  yellowish  green  colour, 
and  the  fruit,  which  is  the  size  of  a  large  pear,  is 
considered  the  most  delicious  in  the  world.  It  con- 
tains a  kernel,  inclosed  in  a  soft  rind;  and  the  yellow 
pulp,  which  is  firm,  has  a  delicate  rich  flavour  of 
the  peach,  but  infinitely  more  grateful.  It  is  some- 
times called  Vegetable  Marrow,  and  is  eaten  with 
pepper  and  salt.  It  appears  necessary,  on  account 
of  the  richness  of  the  pulp,  to  apply  some  spice  or 
acid,  and  thus  lime-juice  is  also  frequently  added  to 


THE    ANCHOVY-PEAR. 


383 


it,  mixed  with  sugar.  Of  the  three  kinds,  the  red, 
the  purple,  and  the  green,  the  latter  is  the  best.  The 
fruit  is  eaten  with  avidity,  not  only  by  men,  but  by 
birds  and  quadrupeds. 


THE"" ANCHOVY-PEAR — Grias  cauliflora. 

The  Anchovy  pear  is  a  fruit  also  much  esteemed 
in  the  West  Indies,  of  which  islands  it  is  a  native. 
The  tree  on  which  it  grows  is  tall,  upright,  and  hand- 
some; rising  to  the  height  of  about  fifty  feet,  with 
leaves  two  or  three  feet  long.  It  bears  large  whitish 
flowers,  that  come  from  the  stem;  and  these  are  fol- 
lowed by  the  fruit,  which  is  of  considerable  size, 
brownish,  having  a  kind  of  pulp  over  a  single  oval 
kernel.  The  fruit  very  much  resembles  the  mango 
in  taste;  and,  like  that,  it  is  often  made  into  pickles 
before  it  is  ripe.  The  tree  grows  in  the  moist  parts 
of  Jamaica,  and  other  places  of  the  West  Indies; 
where,  in  addition  to  the  value  of  its  fruit,  it  is  a 
highly  ornamental  tree.  It  may  be  reared  in  England, 
by  the  joint  effects  of  bark  and  the  heat  of  a  stove, 
as  is  done  with  the  pine-apple.  In  the  West  Indies 


384  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

it  grows  readily  from  the  kernel,  and  is  often  culti- 
vated in  clumps. 


THE    CUSTARD    APPLE — JLnona  muricata — Anona. 
squamosa. 

Ten  or  twelve  species  of  the  custard-apple  are 
enumerated.  They  are  natives  of  the  tropical  parts 
of  Africa,  Asia,  and  America;  but  the  better  sorts 
are  more  abundant  in  the  latter  part  of  the  globe. 

The  Sour  sop,  rough  custard- apple  (jthuma  muri- 
cata*), is  a  middle-sized  tree,  growing  abundantly  on 
the  savannahs  in  Jamaica;  and  bearing  a  large  oval 
fruit  of  a  greenish  yellow  colour,  covered  with  small 
knobs  on  the  outside,  and  containing  a  white  pulp, 
having  a  flavour  compounded  of  sweet  and  acid, 
and  very  cooling  and  agreeable.  It  is,  however,  too 
common  to  be  much  esteemed  by  the  wealthier  peo- 
ple, though  it  is  much  sought  after  and  relished  by 
the  negroes.  The  odour  and  taste  of  the  whole  plant 
are  very  similar  to  those  of  the  black  currant.  It 


THE    ALLIGATOR    APPLE.  385 

was  early  introduced  into  England,  but  has  not  come 
into  cultivation  as  a  fruit  tree. 

The  Cherimoyer  (Jlnana  Cherimolia)  is  a  native  of 
the  continent  of  America;  and  in  Peru  it  is  ac- 
counted one  of  the  best  fruits  they  have.  Humboldt 
speaks  of  it  with  high  praise;  but  Feuillee,  another 
traveller  in  South  America,  says  an  European  pear 
or  plum  is  worth  all  the  Cherimoyers  of  Peru.  The 
tree  which  produces  this  fruit  has  a  trunk  about  ten 
feet  high;  the  leaves  are  oval,  and  pointed  at  both 
ends;  the  flowers  are  solitary,  very  fragrant,  and  of 
a  greenish  colour;  the  fruit  of  considerable  size, 
somewhat  heart-shaped,  rough  on  the  outside,  and 
grayish  brown,  or  even  nearly  black,  when  ripe.  The 
flesh,  in  which  the  seeds  are  contained,  is  soft,  sweet, 
and  pleasant,  and  highly  esteemed  both  by  natives 
and  foreigners.  It  has  been  introduced  into  England 
for  about  a  century,  but  not  cultivated  as  a  fruit  tree. 
In  the  south  of  Spain,  it  is  occasionally  found  in  gar- 
dens, where  it  bears  its  fruit  as  an  orchard-tree. 

The  sweet  sop  (Jlnona  squamosa}  is  a  very  small 
tree,  being,  in  many  situations,  little  better  than  a 
bush.  It  is  found  both  in  the  East  and  the  West 
Indies.  The  fruit  is  almost  the  size  of  the  head  of 
an  artichoke,  scaly,  and  of  a  greenish  yellow  colour. 
The  rind  is  strong  and  thick;  but  the  pulp  is  deli- 
cious, having  the  odour  of  rose-water,  and  tasting 
like  clotted  cream  mixed  with  sugar.  It  is,  like 
many  other  fruits,  said  to  have  a  much  finer  flavour 
in  the  Indian  Archipelago  than  in  the  West  Indies. 
It,  too,  was  early  known  in  England,  but  has  not 
become  general. 

The  Alligator  apple  (Jlnona  palustris)  grows  wild 
in  the  marshes  of  Jamaica.  The  fruit  is  shining  and 
smooth  in  appearance,  and  sweet  and  not  unpleasant 
to  the  taste;  but  it  is  a  strong  narcotic,  and  there- 
fore, not  generally  eaten.  One  thing  worthy  of 

VOL.  n.  15* 


386          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

remark  is,  that  the  wood  of  the  alligator  apple-tree  is 
so  soft  and  compressible,  that  the  people  of  Jamaica 
call  it  cork- wood,  and  employ  it  for  stoppers. 

WII<D  PLUMS — Jlchras. 

There  are  various  species  of  the  wild  plum  in  the 
West  Indies,  some  of  them  timber-trees  of  large  di- 
mensions; but  those  most  valued  for  their  fruit  are 
the  sappodilla  plum  (Jlchras  sapota),  and  the  mamnaee 
sapota  (Jlchras  mammosa.) 

The  sappodilla  plum  is  a  large  and  straight  tree, 
which  runs  to  a  considerable  height  without  any 
branches,  with  a  dark  gray  bark,  very  much  chapped. 
The  leaves  are  smooth  and  beautiful,  and  the  flowers 
white  and  bell-shaped:  The  fruit  resembles  a  ber- 
gamot  pear  in  shape  and  size,  but  in  colour  is  like  a 
medlar,  and  is  similar  also  to  that,  in  being  eaten 
when  it  is  beginning  to  decay. 

The  mammee  sapota  grows  on  a  much  smaller 
tree,  with  larger  leaves  and  flowers  of  a  cream- 
colour;  the  fruit  about  the  same  size  as  the  former, 
but  brownish  when  ripe,  and  containing  a  pulp  re- 
sembling marmalade  of  quinces  in  consistency,  and 
of  a  very  delicious  flavour.  On  account  of  this  the 
tree  is  sometimes  called  the  marmalade-tree,  and  is, 
in  all  probability,  the  same  which  Stedman,  in  his  ac- 
count of  Surinam,  calls  the  marmalade  box.  It  is  a 
native  of  the  West  Indies  and  the  adjoining  coast, 
and  is  very  much  cultivated  in  the  gardens  there  for 
the  sake  of  its  fruit. 

STAR  APPLE — Chrysophyllum  Cainito. 

This  is  also  a  native  of  the  West  Indies.  It 
grows  on  a  moderately-sized  spreading  tree,  with 
slender,  flexile  branches.  There  are  some  species, 
or,  at  least  varieties  of  the  fruit.  The  star  apple, 
properly  so  called,  bears  fruit  resembling  a  large 


THE    MELON-THISTLE.  387 

apple,  which,  in  the  inside,  is  divided  into  ten  cells, 
each  containing  a  black  seed,  surrounded  by  a  gela- 
tinous pulp.  The  West  Indian  damson  plum  has 
small  fruit,  and  is  chiefly  found  in  the  woods.  The 
milky  juice  of  the  star  apple,  both  of  the  tree  and 
the  fruit,  before  it  is  ripe  is  remarkably  astringent; 
but,  when  the  fruit  ripens,  it  is  gweet  and  very  agree- 
able to  the  taste. 

MELON  THISTLE, TORCH  THISTLE, CREEPING  CEREUS, 
INDIAN  FIG,  OR  PRICKLY  PEAR.     Cactus. 

The  cactus  is  a  very  numerous  and  very  singular 
genus  of  vegetables.  With  the  exception  of,  perhaps, 
one  species,  the  common  prickly  pear,  which  is  found 
in  the  south  of  Europe,  in  Barbary,*  and  in  some 
parts  of  North  America,  they  are  all  natives  of  the 
West  Indies.  In  the  warmer  parts  of  the  American 
continent  they  are  found  growing  upon  the  bare 
rocks,  without  soil,  and  apparently,  in  many  instances, 
without  humidity.  The  leaf-like  stems  are  thick, 
succulent,  generally  covered  with  spines;  and  the 
individual  masses,  which  are  often  fantastically  joined 
together  by  narrow  necks,  have  some  resemblance  to 
the  fruit  of  the  cucumber.  These  stems  or  leaves 
are,  in  all  their  singular  varieties,  perennial;  and, 
from  their  succulent  nature,  they  can  live  almost 
without  water.  The  stems  are  jointed,  and  generally 
armed  with  bunches  of  sharp  spines  intermixed  with 
bristles;  they  produce  flowers  on  proper  foot-stalks, 
or  adhering  to  the  stem;  some  of  these  flowers  are 
of  great  beauty;  and  the  fruit  by  which  they  are  fol- 
lowed is,  in  several  of  the  species  edible. 

The  small  melon  thistles  are  covered  with  tubercles 
or  warts  all  over,  and  the  flowers  come  out  between 
them;  while  on  the  great  melon  thistles,  which  are 
of  an  oval  or  globular  form,  the  spines  are  arranged 

*  Sea  Shaw's  Travels,  vol.  i.  p.  266. 


388  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

in  rows  along  a  kind  of  ribs.  The  torch  thistles  rise 
to  a  greater  height,  in  prismatic  or  cylindrical  stalks, 
with  projecting  ribs;  and  they  are  very  much  jointed 
and  branched.  The  creeping  cereuses  are  like  the 
former,  only  the  stems  are  much  slenderer,  and  the 
joints  much  more  flexible,  so  that  they  cannot  sup- 
port themselves,  but  lie  along  the  ground,  or  climb 
up  trees,  in  doing  which  they  throw  out  roots  from 
the  stem,  like  ivy.  The  Indian  figs  have  the  portions 
or  lobes  of  the  stem  flattened,  like  the  sole  of  a  shoe; 
they  are  scattered  over  with  spines;  and  the  flowers 
are  produced  from  the  extremities  of  the  remotest 
branches.  The  Phyllanthus,  or  spleen-wort  leaved, 
has  the  lobes  flattened  so  as  to  resemble  leaves  in- 
dented at  the  edges,  and  without  any  spines,  the 
flowers  appearing  nearly  in  the  indentations;  while 
the  Barbadoes  gooseberry  ( Cactus  pereskia)  has  a 
round  stalk,  with  leaves  which  are  thick  and  flat, 
and  come  alternately  from  the  stalk;  the  spines  are 
large  and  stiff,  and  appear  chiefly  at  the  junctions  of 
the  leaves  with  the  stem;  at  which  places,  also,  the 
flowers  make  their  appearance.  The  flowers  vary  in 
form,  some  being  pitcher-shaped,  and  some  elon- 
gated; and  many  of  them  are  of  the  most  brilliant 
colours.  The  fruit  varies  from  the  size  of  a  currant 
to  the  size  and  shape  of  a  fig;  from  which  latter 
circumstance,  and  their  being  natives  of  the  West 
Indies,  and  the  adjoining  countries,  they  are  called 
Indian  figs.  Throughout  the  West  Indies,  Mexico, 
and  the  other  cultivated  parts  of  tropical  America, 
the  larger  species  of  the  cactus  are  used  for  hedge- 
rows, the  strength  of  the  stems,  and  formidable 
armature  of  the  spines,  rendering  a  hedge  of  them 
proof  against  animals. 

The  fruit  of  several  of  the  species  is  eaten;  but 
those  which  are  most  esteemed  are  the  opuntia,  or 
Indian  fig;  the  triangularis,  or  strawberry-pear 


WILD    PLUMS.  389 

and  the  C.  speciosslssimus.  The  first  is  the  prickly 
pear,  having  fruit  about  the  size  of  figs,  and  inter- 
nally of  a  red  colour  ;  but  varying  in  quality  with  the 
variety  and  the  climate  in  which  it  is  produced.  The 
strawberry-pear  belongs  to  the  creeping  class  ;  the 
fruit  is  small,  but  it  is  the  finest  flavoured  of  any, 
and  is  much  relished  in  some  of  the  West  India 
islands.  The  C.  speciossissimus  has  fruit  twice  as 
large  as  a  large  gooseberry,  green,  and  exceedingly 
delicious. 

The  species  denominated  "  Cochinellifer,"  is  gene- 
rally understood  to  be  that  which  feeds  the  cochineal 
insect  ;  but  probably  that  insect  feeds  upon  various 
sorts  of  cactus  and  other  succulent  plants,  though 
its  efficiency  and  brilliance  as  a  dye  may  vary  with 
the  plant. 


Strawberry  Pear. 


390 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


THE  PAPAW — Carica 


papaya. 


Though  the  papavv-tree  is  now  found  in  the  East 
as  well  as  in  the  West,  it  is  generally  understood  to 
be  a  native  of  America,  and  to  have  been  carried  to 
the  East  about  the  time  of  the  first  intercourse  be- 
tween the  two  continents.  The  papaw  rises  with  a 
hollow  stem  to  the  height  of  about  twenty  feet,  after 
which  it  has  a  head  composed,  not  of  branches,  but 
of  leaves  and  very  long  foot-stalks.  The  male  and 
female  flowers  are  on  different  trees  :  the  female 
flowers  are  bell-shaped,  large,  generally  yellow,  and 
followed  by  a  fleshy  fruit,  about  the  size  of  a  small 
melon.  The  tree,  and  even  the  fruit,  are  full  of  an 
acrid  milky  juice  ;  but  the  fruit  is  eaten  with  sugar 
and  pepper,  like  melon  ;  and  when  the  half-grown 
fruit  is  properly  pickled,  it  is  but  little  inferior  to  the 
pickled  mango  of  the  East  Indies.  There  are  many 


CRENADILLAS. 


391 


forms  in  the  fruit,  and  some  varieties  in  the  colour  of 
the  flower  of  the  papaw  :  and  there  is  also  a  dwan 
species  ;  though,  as  this' has  been  observed  chiefly  in 
acrid  situations,  it  may  be  the  common  sort  stunted 
for  want  of  moisture. 


GRENADILLAS — Passiflora. 

The  passifloras  are  a  very  numerous.race ;  they  are 
mostly  natives  of  the  West  Indies  and  the  tropical 
parts  of  America,  from  which  some  of  the  species 
have  been  introduced  into  this  country,  chiefly  on 
account  of  the  beauty  of  their  flowers.  Few  of  the 
species  bear  fruit  in  this  country. 

The  grenadillas  with  which  we  are  best  acquainted 
are  those  of  the  West  India  islands,  the  chief  of 
which  are  the  purple-fruited  (Passiflora  eduhs)— 


392  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

the  Passiflora  quadrangularis — and  the  water-lemon 
(Passiflora  laurifolia}.  The  stem  of  the  first  is 
herbaceous,  the  fruit  round,  of  a  light  purple,  when 
ripe,  with  a  whitish  and  rather  pleasant  pulp.  The 
Passiflora  quadrangularis  is  the  most  valuable  for 
cultivation  here  ;  and  it  has  borne  fruit  in  the  gardens 
of  the  Horticultural  Society.  The  water-lemon  is  a 
larger  and  more  woody  plant  :  the  flowers  are  hand- 
some, and  very  fragrant  ;  and  the  fruit  something  in 
the  shape  and  of  the  size  of  a  lemon,  full  of  a  watery 
but  very  agreeable  tasted  juice,  whence  the  name. 
The  plant  grows  wild  in  the  woods,  but  is  often  cul- 
tivated for  the  sake  of  its  fruit.  It  was  introduced 
into  England  about  the  same  time  with  the  pine- 
apple, but  it  has  not  met  with  equal  attention. 

On  the  American  continent,  and  especially  in 
Brazil,  where  the  productions  of  the  vegetable  king- 
dom are  very  numerous  and  luxuriant,  there  are 
many  varieties  of  grenadilla,  if  not  distinct  species, 
with  which  botanists  do  not  appear  to  be  very  well 
acquainted  ;  indeed,  the  forests  and  savannahs  of 
Brazil  appear  to  offer  the  richest  harvest  for  bota- 
nical research  of  any  places  now  on  the  surface  of 
the  globe.  Ptso,  in  his  natural  history  of  Brazil, 
enumerates  and  gives  figures  of  several  sorts  of 
grenadilla,  under  the  name  of  Murucuja.  One,  he 
says,  has  five-lobed  leaves  and  purple  flowers,  with 
oblong  fruit,  larger  than  any  European  pear,  filled 
with  a  mucila'ginous  pulp,  of  a  scent  and  flavour 
that  nothing  can  exceed.  Another  has  the  same  leaf 
and  flavour,  but  fruit  in  the  form  and  size  of  an 
apple,  the  pulp  of  which  has  a  vinous  flavour. 
There  are  many  other  sorts,  but  these  are  described 
as  the  best.  The  grenadillas  generally,  which  are 
called  parchas  by  the  Spaniards,  have  a  pleasant 
sweetish  acid,  with  a  fragrance  something  between 
that  of  a  melon  and  a  strawberry. 


THE    COCOA-NUT.  393 

COCOA-NUT — Cocos. 

The  cocoa-palm  is  supposed  to  be  a  native  of  the 
south-east  of  Asia,  and  is  found  wild  in  some  of  the 
small  islands  off  the  shores;  but  it  has  been  intro- 
duced into  almost  every  part  of  the  tropical  regions. 
Its  quality  of  bearing  the  neighbourhood  of  sea  water 
is  very  favourable  to  its  migrations.  There  are  five 
species  enumerated  and  described  by  the  botanists; 
but  the  most  valuable  is  the  cocos  nucifera,  or  cocoa- 
tree,  properly  so  called. 


Cocoa  nut — (Cocol  nucifera.) 

The  nucifera  is  a  very  tall  tree,  the  trunk  of  which 
is  composed  of  hard  and  strong  fibres,  which  cross 
each  other  like  net-work.  There  are,  strictly  speaking, 
no  branches;  but  the  leaves  are  from  twelve  to  four- 
teen feet  long,  with  a  very  strong  middle  rib,  to  each 
side  of  which  the  sword-shaped  leafets  are  attached. 
The  flowers  come  out  round  the  top  of  the  trunk,  each 
cluster  inclosed  in  a  long  spatha  or  sheath.  When 
these  have  arrived  at  maturity,  the  sheath  opens,  and 
the  male  flowers  gradually  fall  off,  leaving  the  embryo 
fruit.  In  a  moist  and  fertile  soil  the  cocoa-palm  bears 
in  four  years;  in  a  dry  region  fruit  is  not  produced 

VOL.  ii  16 


394  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

till  it  has  been  planted  ten  years.  The  fruit  consists 
externally  of  a  thin  but  tough  rind,  of  a  brownish-red 
colour;  beneath  which  there  is  a  quantity  of  very 
tough  fibrous  matter,  of  which  cordage  and  coarse 
sail-cloth  are  sometimes  made.  Burckhardt  says  that 
ships  coming  from  the  East  Indies  to  Djidda  have 
cordage  made  of  the  cocoa-nut  tree.  Inclosed  within 
this  fibrous  mass  is  the  shell,  of  great  firmness,  and 
used  for  many  domestic  purposes.  While  the  nut  is 
green,  the  whole  hollow  of  the  shell  is  filled  with  an 
agreeable,  sweetish,  refreshing  liquor.  When  the 
nut  is  gathered,  a  formation  of  albumen  takes  place 
upon  the  inside  of  the  shell,  producing  that  white, 
firm,  pleasant-tasted,  but  rather  indigestible,  sub- 
stance, which  is  called  the  kernel  of  the  nut.  Like 
the  kernels  of  most  nuts,  that  of  the  cocoa  is  very 
nutritious,  from  the  great  quantity  of  fixed  oil  that  it 
contains;  but  that  is  also  the  ingredient  to  which  its 
indigestible  quality  is  owing.  A  tree  generally  fur- 
nishes about  an  hundred  cocoas.  The  stem  of  the 
cocoa-nut  tree  is  very  tough  and  durable,  and  used 
for  constructing  the  abodes  of  the  people  in  the  warm 
countries  where  it  grows,  and  the  leaves  are  employed 
as  thatch;  while  the  ribs  answer  the  same  purpose 
as  osiers  in  the  making  of  baskets  and  other  wicker- 
work.  The  tender  shoots  at  the  top  of  the  cocoa-nut 
tree  may  be  used  as  esculents,  and  are  very  tender 
and  delicate;  but  they  are  costly,  as  they  cannot  be 
obtained  except  at  the  expense  of  the  tree. 

The  finest  arrack  in  the  East  Indies  is  made  from 
the  juice  of  the  cocoa-nut  tree.  This  juice,  before  it  is 
distilled,  is  called  toddy;  and  those  trees  from  which 
it  is  to  be  obtained  are  not  suffered  to  bear  fruit. 
There  are  two  ways  of  obtaining  the  toddy:  they 
either  cut  ofF  the  monthly  shoot  from  which  the  fruit 
would  be  produced,  and  collect  the  sap  in  jars  from 
the  wound;  or  they  make  a  perforation  in  the  trunk 


THE    COCOA-NUT.  395 

of  the  tree,  which  they  keep  plugged  up,  unless  when 
they  are  about  to  collect  the  sap.  When  put  in  ves- 
sels, and  kept  out  of  the  sun,  the  toddy  undergoes 
the  vinous  fermentation,  and  is  fit  for  distilling;  but 
if  it  be  exposed  to  the  sun,  it  undergoes  the  acetous 
fermentation,  and  is  changed  into  vinegar. 

The  cocoa-palm  generally  reaches  the  age  of  from 
eighty  to  a  hundred  years;  and  its  average  height  is 
about  eighty  feet.  Its  growth  is  thus  more  rapid 
than  the  other  palms. 

The  other  species  of  cocoa  are  not  so  valuable. 
Cocos  butyracea  is  very  mucilaginous,  and  also  very 
oily.  The  pulp  of  the  nuts  is  used  for  fatting  hogs; 
and  the  natives  of  South  America  make  a  sort  of 
butter  from  it.  The  Guinea  cocoa-nut  (Cocos  glii- 
niensis}  is  much  smaller  than  the  others,  the  trunk  not 
being  above  one  inch  in  diameter,  and  twelve  feet 
high.  It  is  tough  and  hard,  and  covered  with 
prickles;  when  cleared  of  the  bark  it  is  made  intJ 
walking-sticks,  which  are  black,  strong,  light,  and 
take  a  fine  polish.  It  grows  abundantly  in  the  island 
of  Tobago,  after  which  island  the  sticks  used  to  be 
named  in  France.  The  fruit  is  about  the  size  of  a 
cherry:  it  may  be  eaten,  but  it  is  very  acid,  and  not 
pleasant;  though  the  wild  hogs  in  Jamaica  devour 
it  greedily.  In  some  parts  of  America  a  sort  of  wine 
is  made  from  it.  It  is  found  most  plentifully  in  the 
northern  parts  of  Colombia.  The  great  maccaw- 
tree  (  Cocos  aculeata)  grows  abundantly  in  the  West 
India  islands.  It  is  a  large  palm,  the  trunk  being 
from  a  foot  to  a  foot  and  a  half  in  diameter,  and 
rising  to  the  height  of  about  thirty  feet.  The  fruit  is 
small,  of  a  globular  form,  but  a  little  flattened,  and 
not  more  than  an  inch  in  diameter.  The  pulp  that 
surrounds  the  nut  has  an  astringent  taste,  but  the 
kernel  is  pleasant.  The  Cocos  nypa  is  thick,  but 
very  low;  and  in  its  fruit  resembles  the  cocoa-nut, 


396  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

only  the  nuts  are  smaller.  It  grows  in  salt  marshes 
and  by  the  mouths  of  rivers,  in  the  south-eastern 
parts  of  Asia. 

All  the  species  yield  fixed  oil:  that  of  the  cocoa- 
nut  is  clear  and  sweet;  and  some  are  of  opinion  that 
the  true  palm  oil  is  obtained  from  the  great  maccaw- 
tree. 

It  would  be  strictly  proper  to  give  here  some  ac- 
count, for  which  there  are  very  interesting  materials, 
of  the  chocolate-tree  and  the  coffee-tree;  but  we 
reserve  them  for  another  portion  of  this  work. 

THE  CASHEW-NUT — jlnacardium  occidentale. 

The  cashew-nut-tree  bears  a  considerable  resem- 
blance to  the  walnut,  and  the  leaves  have  nearly  the 
same  scent.  The  fleshy  receptacle,  vulgarly  called 
apple,  which  the  tree  produces,  is  of  an  agreeable 


The  Cashew-nut — (Anacardium  occidentale.) 


THE    JUVIA  397 

subacid  flavour,  and  may  be  fermented  into  a  kind  of 
wine,  or  distilled  into  arrack.  The  nut,  of  a  kidney 
shape,  is  attached  to  the  end  of  the  apple;  it  is  inclosed 
in  two  shells,  between  which  there  is  a  native  inflam- 
mable oil,  which  is  so  caustic  that  it  will  blister  the 
skin.  The  kernel,  contained  in  the  second  or  inner 
shell,  is  of  a  very  fine  flavour,  and  used  to  give  a 
pleasant  taste  to  many  products  of  cookery:  it  also 
greatly  improves  the  flavour  of  chocolate. 

THE  JUVIA — Bertholletia  excelsa. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  fruits  of 
South  America,  which  has  been  made  familiar  to  us 
principally  by  the  interesting  description  of  Hum- 
boldt.  It  was  first  noticed  in  a  geographical  work 
published  in  1633,  by  Laet,  who  says  that  the 
weight  of  this  fruit  is  so  enormous,  that,  at  the  period 
when  it  falls,  the  savages  dare  not  enter  the  forests 
without  covering  their  heads  and  shoulders  with  a 
strong  buckler  of  wood.  The  natives  of  Esmerelda 
still  describe  the  dangers  which  they  run,  when  the 
fruit  falls  from  the  height  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet.  The 
triangular  grains  which  the  shell  of  the  juvia  in- 
closes, are  known  in  commerce  under  the  name  of 
Brazil  nuts  ;  and  it  has  been  erroneously  thought 
that  they  grow  upon  the  tree  in  the  form  in  which 
they  are  imported. 

The  tree  which  produces  the  juvia  is  only  about 
two  or  three  feet  in  diameter,  but  it  reaches  a  height 
of  a  hundred  and  twenty  feet.  The  fruit  is  as  large 
as  a  child's  head.  Humboldt  justly  observes  that 
nothing  can  give  a  more  forcible  idea  of  the  power 
of  vegetable  life  in  the  equinoctial  zone  than  these 
enormous  ligneous  pericarps.  In  fifty  or  sixty  days 
a  shell  is  formed  half  an  inch  in  thickness,  which 
it  is  difficult  to  open  with  the  sharpest  instrument. 

VOL.    II.  16* 


398          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

The  grains  which  this  shell  contains  have  two  dis- 
tinct envelopes.  Four  or  five,  and  sometimes  as 
many  as  eight,  of  these  grains  are  attached  to  a 
central  membrane.  The  Capuchin  apes  (Simla 
chiropotes)  are  exceedingly  fond  of  the  almonds  of 
the  juvia  ;  and  the  noise  of  the  falling  fruit  excites 
their  appetites  in  the  highest  degree.  The  natives 
say  that  these  animals  unite  their  strength  to  break 
the  pericarp  with  a  stone,  and  thus  to  obtain  the 
coveted  nuts.  Humboldt  doubts  this;  but  he  thinks  ' 
that  some  of  the  order  of  Rodentia,  such  as  the 
Cavia  aguti,  are  able  to  open  the  outer  shell  with 
their  sharp  teeth  applied  with  unwearied  pertinacity. 
When  the  triangular  nuts  are  spread  on  the  ground, 
all  the  animals  of  the  forest  surround  them,  and  dis- 
pute their  possession.  The  Indians,  who  collect 
these  nuts,  say  "it  is  the  feast  of  the  animals,  as 
well  as  of  ourselves  ;"  but  they  are  angry  with 
their  rivalry.  The  gathering  of  the  juvia  is  cele- 
brated with  rejoicings,  like  the  vintage  of  Europe. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Fruits  of  India,  China,  and  Japan. — Mango ;  Mangostan  ;  Durion  ;  Malay 
Apple;  Jaca;  Litchi ;  Longan;  Jujube;  Kaki;  Loquat. 

THE  Indian  archipelago  is  said  to  produce  the  most 
rich  and  curious  fruits  of  any  part  of  the  globe.  The 
greater  number  of  the  fruits  of  the  Indian  islands 
grow  wild  ;  and  very  little  cultivation  is  given  to 
any.  Nature  appears  to  bestow  her  bounty  pecu- 
liarly upon  fruits  ;  for  some  of  the  fine  sorts  are 
produced  upon  land  unfit  for  raising  grain.*  The 
Indian  continent  bears,  generally,  the  same  fruits  as 
the  Indian  islands;  with  some  peculiar  to  itself.  In 
China  and  Japan,  the  cultivated  fruits,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  consist  of  the  same  natural  orders  as 
those  of  Europe  ;  though,  according  to  many  tra- 
vellers, far  superior  in  size  and  flavour. 

THE  MANGO — Mangifera  indica. 

The  mango,  which  grows  abundantly  in  India,  the 
south-eastern  countries  of  Asia,  Brazil,  and  some 
other  places,  is  accounted  one  of  the  most  delicious 
of  the  tropical  fruits,  and  second  only  to  the  mango- 
stan.  The  tree  on  which  it  is  produced  is  large,  with 
lancet-shaped  leaves,  bearing  some  resemblance  to 
the  walnut.  The  flowers  are  small  and  whitish, 
formed  into  pyramidal  bunches;  the  fruit  has  some 
resemblance  to  a  short,  thick  cucumber,  and  on  the 
average  of  the  varieties,  of  which  there  are  many, 

*  Lindley  on  Tropical  Fruits,  Hort.  Trans,  vol.  T. 


400 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


«  The  Mango — (Mangifera  indica.) 

about  the  size  of  a  goose's  egg.  At  first  the  fruit  is 
of  a  fine  green  colour,  and  in  some  of  the  varieties  it 
continues  so,  while  others  become  partly  or  wholly 
orange.  When  ripe,  the  mango  emits  a  smell,  which, 
though  faint,  is  very  pleasant;  and  the  flavour  of  it 
is  then  as  delicious  as  can  be  imagined.  Externally 
there  is  a  thin  skin;  and  upon  removing  that,  a  pulp, 
which  has  some  appearance  of  consistency,  but  which 
melts  in  the  mouth  with  a  cooling  sweetness,  that 
can  hardly  be  imagined  by  those  who  have  not  tasted 
that  choicest  of  nature's  delicacies.  In  the  heart  of 
the  pulp  there  is  a  pretty  large  stone,  resembling  that 
of  a  peach,  to  which  the  pulp  adheres  firmly. 

The  mangos  of  Asia  are  said  to  be  superior  both 
in  size  and  flavour  to  those  of  America  ;  and  so 
highly  are  some  of  the  finer  trees  prized  in  India, 
that  guards  are  placed  over  them  during  the  fruit 
season.  The  mangos  of  Mazagong,  which  are  thus 
carefully  watched,  are  thought  to  be  superior  to  any 


THE    MANGO.  401 

other.  The  varieties  of  a  fruit  so  much  esteemed 
must  be  numerous, — accordingly  it  is  reckoned  that 
there  are  upwards  of  forty  in  the  island  of  Java  alone, 
while  those  of  some  of  the  islands  farther  to  the  east, 
such  as  Amboyna  and  Banda,  are  said  to  be  still 
finer.  The  Mango  dodol  is  the  largest  variety,  the 
fruit  weighing  upwards  of  two  pounds, — generally 
about  the  size  of  a  middling  shaddock.  Some  of  the 
others,  which  make  up  the  five  principal  heads  into 
which  Rumphius  (Herbarium  Jlmboinense)  arranges 
the  whole,  are  of  superior  size  and  flavour  :  but  the 
fruit,  taken  altogether,  is  one  of  the  chief  dainties  of 
the  vegetable  world. 

The  mango  is  never  brought  from  India  to  this 
country  in  any  other  state  than  the  green  fruit 
pickled,  from  which  no  idea  of  the  flavour  can  be 
formed.  The  ripe  fruit  is  very  perishable  ;  and  when 
it  begins  to  decay  it  is  offensive,  and  tastes  strongly 
like  turpentine.  It  is  not  easy  even  to  secure  the 
vegetative  power  of  the  nut  or  kernel  during  the 
voyage  from  India,  unless  it  be  inclosed  in  wax  ; 
and  the  plants  are  with  difficulty  preserved  as  objects 
of  curiosity. 

In  the  Transactions  of  the  Horticultural  Society 
for  1826,  there  is  an  account  of  some  mangos,  raised 
by  Earl  Powis,  at  Walcot  Hall,  in  Shropshire.  "  The 
mango,"  says  Mr.  Sabine,  the  secretary  to  the  society, 
in  his  very  able  paper  upon  the  subject,  "  is  well 
known  to  all  travellers  who  have  visited  the  tropical 
parts  of  the  world,  as  being  by  far  the  best  fruit  that 
is  generally  produced  in  those  regions,  and  as  that 
which  is  the  most  uniformly  grateful  to  an  European 
palate.  In  such  climates,  it  is  cultivated  wherever 
the  arts  of  civilization  have  penetrated  ;  and  it  may 
there  be  said  to  hold  the  same  station,  among  other 
fruits,  as  the  apple  possesses  among  those  of  northern 
regions.  Like  the  apple,  the  number  of  varieties 


402         VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

raised  from  the  seed  of  the  mango  is  also  very  great  ; 
and  of  these,  while  some  possess  the  highest  excel- 
lence, there  are  others  in  which  the  flesh  of  the  fruit 
is  so  fibrous  and  ill  flavoured,  as  to  resemble,  as  is 
commonly  said,  nothing  so  much  as  a  mixture  of 
1  tow  and  turpentine.'  " 


THE  MANGOSTAN — Garcinia  mangostana. 

The  Mangostan,  or  Mangustin,  is  one  of  the  most 
delicious  fruits  that  grows  ;  and  the  tree  (Garcinia 
mangostana)  on  which  it  is  produced,  is  one  of  the 
most  graceful  and  beautiful  anywhere  to  be  met  with. 
It  is  a  native  of  Sumatra,  and  also  of  the  Molucca,  or 
Spice  islands,  from  which  it  has  been  transplanted  to 
Java,  and  some  other  parts  of  the  eastern  Archi- 
pelago. The  stem,  which  is  of  a  variegated  brownish- 
red  colour,  rises  to  the  height  of  about  twenty  feet  ; 
the  branches  come  out  in  regular  order,  and  give  the 
head  of  the  tree  the  form  of  a  parabola  ;  and  the 
leaves  are  entire,  about  eight  inches  long,  and  four 
broad  at  the  middle,  of  a  beautiful  green  on  the  upper 
side,  and  a  fine  olive  on  the  under.  The  flower 
resembles  that  of  a  single  rose,  with  some  dark  red 
petals.  The  fruit  is  round,  about  the  size  of  an  ordi 


THE    MANGOSTAN.  403 

nary  orange  ;  and  has  a  little  cap  on  the  extremity, 
under  which  it  is  plaited  into  rays.  The  shell  of  the 
fruit,  which  is  at  first  green,  but  changes  to  brown 
marked  with  yellow  spots,  has  some  resemblance  to 
that  of  a  pomegranate,  but  is  thicker  and  softer,  and 
the  contents  are  more  juicy.  The  pulp  is  divided 
internally  by  thin  septa,  like  those  in  an  orange,  and 
the  seeds  are  lodged  in  the  divisions.  The  flavour  of 
the  pulp  is  said  to  be  that  of  the  finest  grape  and 
strawberry  united  ;  but  those  who  have  tasted  the 
fruit  in  perfection,  and  attempted  to  convey  to  others 
some  idea  of  the  impression  that  it  had  made  on 
them,  are  not  agreed  as  to  what  it  resembles.  Abel 
says  that  "  he  and  his  companions  were  anxious  to 
carry  with  them  some  precise  expression  of  its  fla- 
vour ;  but  after  satisfying  themselves  that  it  partook 
of  the  compound  nature  of  the  pine-aple  and  the 
peach,  they  were  obliged  to  confess  that  it  had  many 
other  equally  good  but  utterly  inexpressible  fla- 
vours." 

There  are  two  other  species  of  this  tree.  These 
are  the  Celebes  mangostan  (Garcinia  celebica),  and 
the  horny  mangostan  (  Garcinia  cornea).  The  first  is 
found  wild  in  the  woods  of  Celebes,  near  Macassar, 
whence  it  has  been  transplanted  to  Amboyna,  Java, 
and  other  places  ;  but  the  fruit,  which  is  rather  larger 
than  that  of  the  true  mangostan,  does  not  always 
ripen.  The  corneous  species  is  found  in  the  high 
remote  mountains  of  Amboyna  :  it  is  a  lofty  tree, 
though  not  of  very  great  diameter.  The  fruit  is  so 
excellent  as  nearly  to  equal  the  true  mangostan.  The 
wood  is  very  hard,  heavy,  and  tough,  and  of  the 
colour  of  horn,  from  which  latter  circumstance  the 
specific  name  is  given  to  it. 


404 


VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


THE  DURION — Durio  zibethinus. 

The  durion,  which  is  pretty  generally  diffused  over 
the  south-east  of  Asia,  is  accounted  next  to  the  man- 
gostan  ;  and,  in  the  opinion  of  some,  is  superior  to  it. 
However  excellent  the  taste  may  be,  the  durion  is 
revolting  to  those  unaccustomed  to  it  ;  for  it  has  a 
strong  smell,  which  is  said  to  arise  from  sulphuretted 
hydrogen.  Yet  this  quality  is  soon  forgotten,  after 
the  palate  becomes  familiar  with  it.  Though  of  the 
most  nutritious  quality,  and  the  most  dainty  taste, 
the  durion  never  palls  upon  the  appetite  or  injures 
the  digestion:  its  effects  are  directly  opposite. 

The  tree  which  produces  the  durion  is  about  the 
size,  and  something  in  the  form,  of  a  pear-tree  ;  but 
the  leaves  are  in  shape  like  those  of  the  cherry,  only 
they  are  entire  and  smooth  at  the  edges.  The  flowers 
are  large,  and  of  a  yellowish  white.  The  fruit  is 
large, — in  some  of  the  species  as  large  as  a  man's 
head  ;  and,  externally,  it  is  not  unlike  the  bread-fruit. 


THE    DURION.  405 

It  has  a  hard  rind,  covered  with  warts  and  tubercles. 
When  ripe,  it  becomes  of  a  brownish  yellow,  and 
opens  at  the  top.  It  must  then  be  eaten  fresh  from 
the  tree,  as  it  putrifies  in  less  than  twenty-four 
hours. 

Internally,  the  fruit  contains  five  large  longitudinal 
cells,  in  each  of  which  are  the  seeds,  about  the  size 
of  pigeon's  eggs,  and  from  one  to  four  in  each  cell. 
The  remainder  of  the  cells  is  filled  with  the  pulp, 
which  is  the  delicious  part  of  the  fruit.  It  is  of  the 
consistence  of  thick  cream,  of  a  milk-white  colour, 
highly  nutritious,  and  blending  the  flavour  and  qua- 
lities of  a  delicate  animal  substance  with  the  cool 
acidity  of  a  vegetable.  This  compound  flavour  is 
peculiarly  its  own,  and  cannot  be  imitated  by  any 
process  of  cookery.  The  Spanish  Mangia  bianco, 
pullets'  flesh  distilled  with  vinegar,  is  said  to  come 
the  nearest  to  it. 

The  durion  is  a  particular  favourite  with  the 
natives  of  the  Eastern  archipelago;  and  there  are 
many  varieties  of  it.  They  all,  however,  belong 
to  three  principal  ones: — The  Borneo  durion  is 
found  in  the  island  after  which  it  is  named.  It 
grows  to  so  great  a  size,  that  one  fruit  is  a  load  for  a 
man.  The  Cassomba,  which  has  a  smoother  rind,  is 
more  orange  in  the  colour,  more  elongated  in  the 
shape,  and  contains  fewer  seeds  and  more  pulp.  The 
Babi  is  a  small,  but  very  delicious  sort.  The  kernels 
or  seeds  of  the  durion,  when  roasted,  have  nearly  the 
same  taste  as  chesnuts.  It  has  not  been  found  in  a 
wild  state;  but  in  the  countries  where  it  will  grow 
and  ripen  at  all,  it  is  easily  cultivated.  So  highly  is 
it  esteemed,  that  it  is  the  most  costly  fruit  in  the 
archipelago — a  single  durion  being  worth  more  than 
a  dozen  of  the  choicest  pine-apples. 

The  Lanseh,  and  the  Jamlee,  fruits  of  Sumatra, 

VOL.    II.  17 


406  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

are  esteemed  most  highly  by  the  natives — the  former 
next  to  the  durion. 


THE  MALAY  APPLE — Eugenia  malaccensis. 

This,  though  an  inferior  fruit  to  the  durion,  is 
attractive  by  its  fragrance — its  smell  being  that  of  a 
rose.  The  Malay  apple  belongs  to  a  numerous  genus 
of  plants,  there  being  a  great  number  of  species  very 
generally  diffused  over  the  tropical  countries.  The 
fruit  of  all  the  species  is  a  fleshy  rind,  inclosing  one 
or  two  large  seeds.  The  Malay  apple  varies  in  size 
from  about  an  inch  in  diameter  to  the  bigness  of  a 
man's  fist.  The  skin  is  yellowish,  thin,  and  shining; 
the  nut  large,  and  without  any  hard  shell;  and  the 
pulp  very  wholesome  and  agreeable.  The  tree  that 
produces  it  has  a  brown  stem,  about  twenty  feet  high, 
very  full  of  branches  at  the  top;  the  young  leaves 
are  bright  purple,  and  the  old  ones  green. 


.•;...  THE    JACA. 


407 


THE  JACA — Jlrtocarpus  integrifolia. 

The  Jaca,  or  Jack,  grows  to  the  same,  or  even  to 
a  larger  size,  than  the  bread-fruit  of  the  Society 
islands;  but  it  is  neither  so  palatable  nor  so  nutri- 
tious. Though  its  specific  name  implies  that  it  is 
entire-leafed,  the  leaves  of  it  are  sometimes  found 
lobed,  like  those  of  the  other.  The  fruit  often  weighs 
more  than  thirty  pounds,  and  contains  two  hundred 
or  three  hundred  seeds,  each  of  them  four  times  as 
large  as  an  almond.  December  is  the  time  when 
the  fruit  ripens:  it  is  then  eaten,  though  not  much 
relished;  and  the  seeds  or  nuts  also  are  eaten,  after 
being  roasted.  There  are  many  varieties  of  the  jaca- 
tree,  some  of  which  can  hardly  be  distinguished  from 
the  seedling  variety  of  the  true  bread-fruit.  The  fruit, 
and  also  the  part  of  the  tree  on  which  it  is  produced, 
varies  with  the  age.  When  the  tree  is  young,  the 
fruit  grows  from  the  twigs;  in  middle  age,  it  grows 
from  the  trunk;  and  when  the  tree  gets  old,  it  grows 
from  the  roots.  The  sort  called  the  Champadak  is 
more  esteemed  than  the  common  Jack,  or  Nangka. 


408  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 


Longan- 

LITCHI — Dimoca'rpus  litchi. — LONGAN — 
Dimocat-pus  longan. 

These  fruits  are  natives  of  the  south  of  China, 
where  they  are  held  in  the  highest  estimation. 
They  have  thence  been  introduced  into  many  parts  of 
the  East  Indies,  and  to  the  gardens  of  the  curious  in 
some  places  of  Europe.  John  Knight,  Esq.,  of  Lee 
Castle,  near  Kidderminster,  presented  the  Horti- 
cultural Society  with  some  of  the  fruit  that  had 
ripened  in  his  hot-house  in  1816,  and  it  was  found 
to  be  as  good  as  that  which  is  produced  in  China. 
The  litchi  was  introduced  into  this  country  by  the  cele- 
brated Warren  Hastings,  Esq.,  in  1786:  the  longan 
had  been  introduced  before. 

The  trees  on  which  these  fruits  are  produced  have 
a  considerable  resemblance  to  each  other, — are,  in 
fact,  so  much  alike,  that  they  are  distinguished  only 
by  the  flowers  of  the  litchi  being  without  petals,  while 


THE    LITCH1.  409 

those  of  the  longan  have  eight;  and  the  fruit  of  the 
litchi  being  larger,  and  generally  of  a  red  colour, 
while  that  of  the  longan  is  always  brown.  They  are 
moderately  sized  trees,  with  brown  bark  which  is 
very  bright  in  the  twigs.  The  leaves  are  large,  have 
some  resemblance  to  those  of  the  laurel,  are  placed 
alternate,  and  hang  very  gracefully.  The  fruit  is 
produced  in  bunches,  which  are  pendent  from  the 
extremities  of  the  twigs;  and  there  is  a  considerable 
number  of  fruit  in  the  bunches,  not  close  together, 
like  grapes,  but  on  stalks,  the  principal  ones  from  six 
inches  to  a  foot  in  length;  while  those  of  the  indivi- 
dual fruit  are  from  one  inch  to  two. 

Of  both  species  there  are  many  varieties  in  China, 
which  differ  in  the  time  of  ripening,  and  the  form 
and  qualities  of  the  fruit.  In  general,  the  litchi  is 
about  an  inch  and  a  half,  or  from  that  to  two  inches, 
in  diameter,  and  the  longan  about  an  inch  and  a 
quarter;  and  both  are  covered  with  small  scaly  pro- 
cesses, which  are  most  prominent  in  the  longan. 
Both  fruits  are  covered  by  tough,  thin,  leathery 
coats,  within  which  is  the  pulp,  and  in  the  inside  of 
that  a  single  brown  seed.  The  pulp  is  colourless, 
semi-transparent,  slightly  sweet,  and  very  grateful  to 
the  taste.  The  Chinese  prefer  the  longan,  to  which 
they  ascribe  medicinal  qualities;  but  Europeans  give 
the  preference  to  the  litchi,  probably  on  account  of 
its  larger  size,  and  the  greater  beauty  of  its  colour. 
The  litchi  is  often  brought  to  this  country  in  a  dried 
state,  in  which,  though  the  pulp  be  much  diminished 
in  size,  it  retains  a  very  considerable  portion  of  its 
original  flavour.  From  the  beauty  and  flavour  of 
these  fruits,  and  the  perfection  to  which  they  have 
been  brought  in  this  country,  in  all  cases  where  they 
have  had  a  fair  trial,  it  is  by  no  means  unlikely  that 
they  may  become  common  as  hot-house  fruit. 

VOL.    II.  17* 


410  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

The  Jujube  (Zizyphus  jujuba)  belongs  to  the 
very  numerous  genus  of  the  buckthorns  (Rhamni). 
It  is  found  in  the  south  of  Europe;  but  nowhere  is 
it  brought  to  so  much  perfection  as  in  China,  where 
there  are  upwards  of  sixty  kinds,  all  of  them  highly 
esteemed.  In  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Lindley,  (Trans. 
Hor.  Soc.,  v.  123,)  the  Chinese  jujube  might  be 
fruited  in  greenhouses  in  England,  with  a  very  mode- 
rate degree  of  artificial  heat. 

The  Kakior  Chinese  Date-plum  (Diospyruskakfy, 
is  a  tree  of  middle  size,  bearing  a  fruit  about  the 
size  of  an  apple,  of  a  reddish  orang-e  colour,  and 
with  a  very  luscious,  brownish,  semi-transparent 
pulp.  The  fruit  of  one  species  is  dried  with  sugar, 
like  figs. 

The  Loquat,  or  Japanese  medlar  (Eriobotrya  ja- 
ponicd],  is  a  large  tree,  producing  a  fine  fruit,  having 
much  the  flavour  of  an  apple.  The  fruit  grows  in 
clusters,  is  of  an  oblong  shape,  and  about  the  size  of 
a  small  plum.  The  tree  is  very  handsome,  and  bears 
the  open  air  in  this  country,  if  the  winter  be  not  too 
severe.  It  was  first  introduced  from  Japan  in  1787. 
It  has  produced  fruit  in  England. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Fruits  of  the  Society  Islands.    Bread-fruit;  Hog-plum.— New  fruits  of 
Australia.— Conclusion. 


THE  BREAD-FRUIT — Jlrtocarpus  incisa. 

The  bread-fruit,  originally  found  in  the  south-eastern 
parts  of  Asia  and  the  islands  of  the  Pacific,  though 
now  introduced  into  the  tropical  parts  of  the  western 
continent,  and  the  West  India  islands,  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting,  as  well  as  singular  productions  of 
the  vegetable  kingdom.  There  are  two  species  of  it: 
the  bread-fruit,  properly  so  called  (dlrtocarpus  in- 
cisa), with  the  leaves  deeply  gashed  or  divided  at  the 
sides,  which  grows  chiefly  in  the  islands;  and  the 
Jack  fruit,  or  Jaca  tree  (jlrtocarpus  integrifolia,) 
with  the  leaves  entire,  which  grows  chiefly  on  the 
main  land  of  Asia.  The  latter  has  been  already 
noticed. 

The  bread-fruit  is  a  beautiful  as  well  as  a  useful  tree : 


412          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

the  trunk  rises  to  the  height  of  about  forty  feet,  and, 
in  a  full  grown  tree,  is  from  a  foot  to  fifteen  inches 
in  diameter;  the  bark  is  ash-coloured,  full  of  little 
chinks,  and  covered  by  small  knobs;  the  inner  bark 
is  fibrous,  and  used  in  the  manufacture  of  a  sort  of 
cloth;  and  the  wood  is  smooth,  soft,  and  of  a  yellow 
colour.  The  branches  come  out  in  a  horizontal 
manner,  the  lowest  ones  about  ten  or  twelve  feet 
from  the  ground  ;  and  they  become  shorter  and 
shorter  as  they  are  nearer  the  top:  the  leaves  are 
divided  into  seven  or  nine  lobes,  about  eighteen 
inches  or  two  feet  long,  and  are  of  a  lively  green.  The 
tree  bears  male  and  female  flowers,  the  males  among 
the  upper  leaves,  and  the  females  at  the  extremities  of 
the  twigs.  When  full  grown,  the  fruit  is  about  nine 
inches  long,  heart-shaped,  of  a  greenish  colour,  and 
marked  with  hexagonal  warts,  formed  into  facets. 
The  pulp  is  white,  partly  farinaceous  and  partly 
fibrous;  but,  when  quite  ripe,  it  becomes  yellow  and 
juicy.  The  whole  tree,  when  in  a  green  state, 
abounds  with  a  viscid  milky  juice,  of  so  tenacious  a 
nature  as  to  be  drawn  out  in  threads. 

In  the  island  of  Otaheite  and  other  places,  where 
the  bread-fruit  forms  the  chief  support  of  the  people, 
there  are,  as  is  the  case  with  cultivated  vegetables  in 
all  countries,  many  varieties;  only  two,  however,  are 
very  different  from  each  other — that  which  contains 
seeds  in  the  fruit,  and  that  which  contains  none. 
The  variety  with  seeds  is  much  inferior  to  the  other, 
being  more  fibrous,  containing  less  farina,  and  not  so 
pleasant  to  the  taste;  it  is,  therefore,  not  cultivated, 
though,  in  cases  of  need,  it  is  roasted  and  eaten. 
Whether  the  seedless  sort  has  been  produced  wholly 
by  cultivation  it  is  not  easy,  and  would  not  be  of 
much  importance,  to  ascertain:  it  is  the  one  culti- 
vated in  the  South  Sea  islands  ;  it  was  originally 
found  only  there;  and  the  tree  was  not  in  much 
repute  till  these  islands  were  discovered. 


THE    BREAD-FRUIT  413 

The  bread-fruit  continues  productive  for  about 
eight  months  of  the  year:  such  is  its  abundance,  that 
two  or  three  trees  will  suffice  for  a  man's  yearly  sup- 
ply, a  store  being  made  into  a  sour  paste,  called 
make  in  the  islands,  which  is  eaten  during  the  unpro- 
ductive season.  The  planting  of  the  seedless  variety 
is  now  saved,  as  the  creeping  roots  send  up  suckers 
which  soon  grow  to  trees;  When  the  fruit  is  roasted 
till  the  outside  is  charred,  the  pulp  has  a  consistency 
not  very  unlike  that  of  wheaten  bread;  and  the  taste 
is  intermediate  between  that  of  bread  and  roasted 
chesnuts.  It  is  said  to  be  very  nourishing,  and  is 
prepared  in  various  ways. 

The  timber  of  the  bread-fruit,  though  soft,  is  found 
useful  in  the  construction  of  houses  and  boats;  the 
male  flowers,  dried,  serve  for  tinder;  the  juice  answers 
for  bird-lime  and  glue;  the  leaves  for  packing  and  for 
towels;  and  the  inner  bark,  beaten  together,  makes 
one  species  of  the  South  Sea  cloth. 

The  earliest  account  of  the  bread-fruit  is  by  Cap- 
tain Dampier,  in  1688.  "  The  bread-fruit,"  says  this 
navigator,  "  grows  on  a  large  tree,  as  big  and  high 
as  our  largest  apple  trees;  it  hath  a  spreading  head, 
full  of  branches,  and  dark  leaves.  The  fruit  grows  on 
the  boughs  like  apples;  it  is  as  big  as  a  penny  loaf, 
when  wheat  is  at  five  shillings  the  bushel;  it  is  of  a 
round  shape,  and  hath  a  thick  tough  rind.  When  the 
fruit  is  ripe,  it  is  yellow  and  soft,  and  the  taste  is 
sweet  and  pleasant.  The  natives  of  Guam  use  it  for 
bread.  They  gather  it  when  full  grown,  while  it  is 
green  and  hard;  then  they  bake  it  in  an  oven 
which  scorcheth  the  rind,  and  maketh  it  black;  but 
they  scrape  off  the  outside  black  crust,  and  there 
remains  a  tender  thin  crust;  and  the  inside  is  soft, 
tender,  and  white,  like  the  crumb  of  a  penny  loaf. 
There  is  neither  seed  nor  stone  in  the  inside,  but  all 
of  a  pure  substance,  like  bread.  It  must  be  eaten 
new,  for,  if  it  be  kept  above  twenty-four  hours,  it 


414'  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

grows  harsh  and  choky,  but  it  is  very  pleasant  before 
it  is  too  stale.  This  fruit  lasts  in  season  eight  months 
in  the  year,  during  which  the  natives  eat  no  other  sort 
of  bread  kind.  I  did  never  see  of  this  fruit  any 
where  but  here.  The  natives  told  us,  that  there  is 
plenty  of  this  fruit  growing  on  the  rest  of  the 
JLadrone  Islands;  and  I  did  never  hear  of  it  any- 
where else." 

The  scientific  men  who  accompanied  Captain  Cook 
in  his  voyages,  came  home  with  the  most  enthusiastic 
ideas  of  the  bread-fruit.  Dr.  Solander  calls  it  "  the 
most  useful  vegetabtle  in  the  world,"  and  urges  that 
no  expense  should  be  spared  in  its  cultivation.  The 
mere  idea  of  bread,  the  most  valuable  food  of  man, 
growing  spontaneously,  was  doubtless  calculated  to 
excite  attention — almost,  perhaps,  as  strongly  as  the 
subsequent  description  of  the  poet: — 

"  The  bread-tree,  which,  without  the  ploughshare,  yields 
The  unreap'd  harvest  of  unfurrow'd  fields, 
And  bakes  its  unadulterated  loaves 
Without  a  furnace  in  unpurchased  groves, 
And  flings  off  famine  from  its  fertile  breast, 
A  priceless  market  for  the  gathering  guest."* 

A  tree,  of  the  value  and  easy  culture  of  which  so 
very  encouraging  accounts  were  given,  could  not  but 
attract  the  notice  of  the  public  generally,  and  more 
especially  of  those  colonists  of  Great  Britain  who 
lived  in  a  climate  warm  enough  for  its  cultivation. 
An  application  to  be  furnished  with  plants  of  the 
bread-fruit  tree  was  accordingly  made  to  his  late 
Majesty  by  the  planters  and  others  interested  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  it  met  with  a  favourable  reception. 
The  Bounty,  a  vessel  of  about  two  hundred  and  fif- 
teen tons  burthen,  was  fitted  up  for  a  voyage  to 
Otaheite.  Lieutenant  (afterwards  Admiral)  Bligh, 
who  had  accompanied  Cook  on  his  last  voyage,  and 
shewn  himself  an  officer  of  great  talents,  enterprise, 

*  Byron. 


THE    BREAD-FRUIT.  415 

and  bravery,  was  appointed  to  the  command.  In 
addition  to  the  crew  of  the  vessel,  two  men  were 
appointed  at  the  recommendation  of  Sir  Joseph 
Banks,  to  take  immediate  charge  of  the  procuring, 
shipping,  and  tending  of  the  plants. 

The  Bounty  was  skilfully  fitted  up  for  her  intended 
purpose.  A  large  cabin  between  decks,  in  mid- 
ships, was  prepared  for  the  reception  of  the  plants. 
This  had  two  large  skylights  on  the  top  for  light; 
three  scuttles  on  each  side  for  ventilation  of  air, 
and  a  double  bottom;  an  upper  one  of  timber  on 
which  to  place  the  pots  and  tubs  containing  the 
plants,  which  was  drilled  full  of  holes  to  allow  escape 
to  the  superfluous  water  which  might  have  injured 
them  by  stagnation — and  a  leaden  one  upon  the  lower 
deck,  in  which  the  water  that  ran  through  the  other 
was  collected,  and  from  which  it  was  conducted  by 
a  leaden  pipe  at  each  corner,  into  casks  below  for 
future  use. 

Thus  prepared,  the  vessel  put  to  sea  about  the 
middle  of  November  1787,  but  was  beat  about  and 
baffled  by  contrary  winds,  so  that  the  voyage  was 
not  commenced  till  the  23d  of  December.  The  in- 
structions given  to  Lieutenant  Bligh  were  full  and 
explicit.  He  was  to  resort  to  those  places  in  the 
Society  Isles  where  Captain  Cook  had  stated  that  the 
bread-fruit  tree  was  to  be  found  in  the  greatest  luxu- 
riance, and  there  procure  as  many  plants  as  the  vessel 
could  carry;  after  which  he  was  to  proceed  with  them 
to  the  West  Indies  with  all  possible  expedition. 

The  commander  sailed  first  for  Teneriffe,  and 
thence  for  the  South  of  America,  intending  to  enter 
the  Pacific  by  the  passage  of  Cape  Horn.  But  the 
storms  of  that  inhospitable  region  beat  him  back; 
and  he  was  forced  to  bear  away  for  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  reach  the  Society  Islands  on  the  side  or 
New  Holland.  This  voyage,  which  had  occupied 


416          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

ten  months,  terminated  on  the  25th  of  October,  by 
the  arrival  of  the  Bounty  at  Otaheite. 

No  time  was  lost  in  putting  the  instructions  into 
execution.  The  young  shoots  that  sprung  from  the 
lateral  roots  of  the  bread-fruit  trees  were  taken  up, 
with  balls  of  earth,  where  the  soil  was  moist;  and 
this  operation  was  continued  till  they  were  in  posses- 
sion of  one  thousand  and  fifteen  live  plants,  secured 
in  seven  hundred  and  seventy-four  pots,  thirty-nine 
tubs,  and  twenty-four  boxes.  To  complete  this  cargo 
took  them  till  the  3d  of  April,  1789;  and  Bligh 
sailed  on  the  fourth,  passing  from  Otaheite  through  the 
group  of  islands,  and  bidding  adieu  to  the  natives, 
with  whom  he  and  his  crew  had  been  on  the  most 
friendly  terms  during  their  stay. 

Hitherto  there  had  been  no  perils  to  contend  with 
but  those  of  the  sea;  but  when  four  and  twenty  days 
had  elapsed,  and  they  were  of  course,  far  from  any 
land,  a  new  scene  took  place,  which  frustrated  for  a 
time  the  bounty  of  the  government  and  the  skill  of 
the  commander.  Under  the  cloak  of  fidelity,  a  mu- 
tiny had  been  forming  of  a  very  determined  and 
extensive  nature;  and  so  well  had  the  mutineers 
disguised  their  intentions,  that  not  one  but  those 
who  were  in  the  plot  had  the  slightest  suspicion  of  it. 

The  known  bravery  of  Lieutenant  Bligh  made  the 
mutineers  afraid  to  attack  him  awake;  and  so,  on  the 
morning  of  the  28th  of  April,  he  was  seized  while 
asleep  in  his  bed,  by  a  band  of  armed  traitors,  and 
hurried  upon  deck  in  his  shirt ;  and,  on  coming  there, 
he  found  the  master,  the  gunner,  one  of  the  master's 
mates,  and  Nelson  the  botanist,  who  had  been  with 
him  under  Cook,  confined  in  the  fore  hatchway,  and 
guarded  by  sentinels.  The  launch  was  hoisted;  and 
such  individuals  as  the  mutineers  did  not  like,  were 
ordered  to  quit  the  ship,  and  forced  if  they  refused 
or  hesitated.  Eighteen  individuals  out  of  the  forty- 


THE    BREAD-FRUIT.  417 

six  remained  true  to  the  commander  ;  and  one  of 
them,  Mr.  Samuel,  the  clerk,  contrived  to  save  Mr. 
Bligh's  commission  and  journals  ;  but  he  failed  in 
attempting  to  procure  Bligh's  surveys,  drawings, 
and  remarks  during  fifteen  years,  which  were  ex- 
ceedingly valuable,  and  the  time-keeper.  Four  of 
the  men,  who  kept  their  allegiance,  were  detained 
by  the  mutineers  contrary  to  their  wishes.  The  cause 
of  this  singular  mutiny,  for  which  none  of  the  usual 
motives  could  very  well  account,  could  not  with  cer- 
tainty be  known  ;  but  it  was  generally  supposed  that 
the  instigator  was  Mr.  Christian,  one  of  the  masters 
mates.  Bligh  himself  says,  in  his  most  interesting 
account  of  this  voyage  and  mutiny,  "  It  will  natu- 
rally be  asked  what  could  be  the  cause  of  this  revolt  ? 
In  answer,  I  can  only  conjecture  that  the  mutineers 
had  flattered  themselves  with  the  hope  of  a  happier 
life  among  the  Otaheitans  than  they  could  possibly 
enjoy  in  England." 

Thus,  after  they  had  made  certain  of  the  successful 
termination  of  an  enterprise  which  was  looked  upon 
with  a  great  deal  of  interest,  both  in  a  scientific  and 
an  economical  point  of  view,  Bligh  was  disappointed 
— and  he  and  his  faithful  associates  were  sent  adrift 
upon  the  wide  ocean,  in  an  open  boat,  with  only  an 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  bread,  a  few  pieces  of 
pork,  a  little  wine  and  rum,  a  quadrant  and  compass, 
and  a  few  other  implements  of  navigation.  But  they 
were  undaunted,  and  they  were  skilful  ;  and  though 
they  had  hard  weather  to  contend  with,  they  reached 
Tofoa,  one  of  the  friendly  Islands.  But  as  the  people 
there  were  as  treacherous,  though  not  quite  so  suc- 
cessful in  their  treachery,  as  their  former  shipmates, 
they  again  put  to  sea,  and  stood  for  New  Holland, 
which  they  reached  in  safety  ;  rested  for  a  little,  and 
got  a  supply  of  provisions.  From  New  Holland  they 
again  sailed  in  the  direction  of  the  Eastern  Archipe- 

VOL.    II.  18 


418          VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

lago  ;  and,  after  suffering  the  greatest  fatigue,  being 
exposed  to  the  full  action  and  vicissitudes  of  the  ele- 
ments, and  forced  for  some  time  to  bear  famine,  they 
reached  the  Dutch  settlement  of  Coupang,  in  the  island 
of  Timor,  without  the  loss  of  one  individual  by  disease; 
though  they  had  traversed  at  least  five  thousand  miles 
of  sea.  Hay,  so  ardent  was  Bligh  as  a  seaman,  that, 
amid  all  those  perils,  he  was  occupied  in  making 
some  very  valuable  observations. 

The  Dutch  governor  of  Coupang  shewed  them 
every  attention  ;  and,  from  the  care  that  was  taken  of 
them,  twelve  were  enabled  to  return  to  England. 
Though  the  adventure  had  failed,  every  body  was 
disposed  to  bestow  all  praise  on  the  adventurer  ;  and 
he  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  captain,  and  appointed 
to  the  command  of  his  Majesty's  ship  Providence, 
in  order  to  repeat  the  voyage. 

The  Providence,  with  the  Assistant,  a  small  ship 
in  company,  sailed  on  the  3d  of  August,  1791.  His 
instructions  were  to  procure  the  bread-fruit  trees  for 
the  West  Indies,  and,  on  his  return,  to  examine  the 
passage  between  the  north  of  New  Holland  and  New 
Guinea — .vhich,  in  his  former  voyage  in  the  Bounty, 
he  had  been  the  first  to  navigate. 

On  the  9th  of  April,  1792,  they  reached  Otaheite; 
and,  by  the  1 7th  of  July,  they  were  ready  to  leave 
the  island,  having  on  board  twelve  hundred  and 
eighty-one  tubs  and  pots  of  plants,  all  in  the  finest 
condition.  There  was  no  mutiny  on  this  voyage  ; 
but  the  passage  between  New  Holland  and  New 
Guinea  was  dangerous  ;  and  it  was  the  2d  of  October 
before  the  captain  reached  his  old  friends  at  Coupang. 
He  remained  there  for  a  week,  replacing  with  plants 
from  that  island  those  that  had  died  on  the  voyage  ; 
and  then  he  came  to  the  Atlantic  by  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope,  which  he  contrived  to  pass  so  closely 
as  never  to  have  a  lower  temperature  than  sixty-one 
degrees  of  Fahrenheit. 


THE    BREAD-FRUIT.  419 

On  the  17th  of  September,  he  anchored  at  St. 
Helena,  collected  there  a  number  of  trees,  and  among 
others  the  akee  ;  and,  leaving  twenty-three  bread- 
fruits, and  some  other  valuable  plants,  he  sailed,  and 
reached  St.  Vincent  on  the  23d  of  January,  1793 — 
where  he  left,  with  Dr.  Anderson,  the  superintendent 
of  the  Botanical  Garden,  three  hundred  and  thirty 
three  bread-fruit  trees,  and  two  hundred  and  eleven 
fruit  trees  of  other  kinds,  receiving  at  the  same  time 
nearly  five  hundred  tropical  plants  for  the  Botanical 
Garden  at  Kew.  From  St.  Vincent,  Captain  Bligh 
sailed  for  Jamaica,  where  he  left  three  hundred  and 
forty -seven  bread-fruits,  and  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
six  others,  which  were  a  selection  of  all  the  finest 
fruits  of  the  east.  Some  of  the  plants  were  also  left 
on  the  island  of  Grand  Cayman  ;  and  the  ships  finally 
came  to  the  Downs  on  the  2d  of  August,  1793. 

But,  after  all  the  peril,  hardship,  and  expense  thus 
incurred  the  bread-fruit  tree  has  not,  hitherto,  at  least, 
answered  the  expectations  that  were  entertained.  The 
banana  is  more  easily  and  cheaply  cultivated,  comes  into 
bearing  much  sooner  after  being  planted,  bears  more 
abundantly,  and  is  better  relished  by  the  negroes. 
The  mode  of  propagating  the  bread-fruit  is  not,  in- 
deed, difficult  ;  for  the  planter  has  only  to  lay  bear  one 
of  the  roots,  and  mound  it  with  a  spade,  and  in  a  short 
space  a  shoot  comes  up,  which  is  soon  fit  for  removal. 

Europeans  are  much  fonder  of  the  bread-fruit  than 
negroes.  They  consider  it  as  a  sort  of  dainty,  and 
use  it  either  as  bread  or  in  puddings.  When  roasted 
in  the  oven,  the  taste  of  it  resembles  that  of  a  pota- 
toe,  but  it  is  not  so  mealy  as  a  good  one. 

THE  OTAHEITE  HOG  PLUM — Spondlas  cytherea. 

The  tree  which  bears  this  fruit  is  large  and  grace- 
ful, rising  to  the  height  of  fifty  feet,  spreading  and 
shadowy.  The  fruit  is  oval,  of  considerable  size,  a 


420  VEGETABLE    SUBSTANCES. 

fine  golden  yellow  when  ripe,  very  smooth,  disagree- 
able to  the  smell,  but  having  a  fleshy  pulp,  and  a 
great  stone  covered  with  fibres,  which  penetrate  the 
flesh.  It  is  peculiarly  grateful  from  its  cooling,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  aromatic  qualities  ;  and  its  flavour 


The  Otaheite  Hog  Plum — (Spondias  cytherea). 

very  much  resembles  that  of  the  pine-apple.  It  is  a 
very  beautiful  tree  when  in  fruit.  The  leaves  are  of 
a  dark  clear  green,  among  which  the  smooth  fruit 
hangs  in  clusters,  like  burnished  gold. 

The  fruits  which  have  been  yet  discovered  in  Aus- 
tralia are  neither  remarkable  nor  numerous.  Mr. 
Cunningham,  who  accompanied  Captain  King  in  his 
survey  of  the  coast  of  that  immense  region,  has, 
however,  just  sent  home  some  curious  specimens  of 
fruit,  which  are  thus  described  to  us. 

LlMONIA    AUSTRALIS. 

The  Australian  lime  is  a  small  green  fruit,  having 
the  form  and  flavour  of  the  lime.  The  tree  is  very 
green  ;  the  leaves  lanceolate,  with  one  or  two  slight 
notches  in  the  edge.  There  is  a  long,  stiff,  and 


THE    CASTANOSPERMUM.  421 

pointed  green  spine  at  the  insertion  of  each  leaf.  This 
was  lately  discovered  at  Moreton  Bay;  the  flower  has 
not  been  seen. 

LISSANTHE  SAPIDA. 

The  Australian  cranberry  is  a  handsome  bush, 
from  six  to  nine  feet  high;  it  grows  in  forest  lands 
near  the  Blue  Mountains;  the  flowers  are  hand- 
some; and  the  berries  of  a  very  delicate  peach- 
bloom  colour,  having  something  of  the  consistency 
and  taste  of  the  Siberian  crab. 

CASTANOSPERMUM  AUSTRALE. 


This  singular  fruit,  which  may  not  improperly  be 
VOL.  n.  18* 


422         VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES. 

called  the  chesnut  bean,  was  lately  found  by  Mr. 
Cunningham  upon  the  banks  of  the  Brisbane  river, 
in  Moreton  Bay,  New  South  Wales.  It  is  the  pro- 
duce of  a  large  and  handsome  tree,  which  belongs  to 
a  new  and  undescribed  genus,  though  in  some  parti- 
culars it  seems  allied  to  Robinia.  The  leaves  are 
pinnated,  upon  long  footstalks;  the  leaflets  entire, 
and  there  is  a  terminal  one.  The  flowers,  which  are 
papilionaceous,  are  produced  at  the  bases  of  the 
leaves  in  considerable  numbers,  not  unlike  those  of 
the  Robinia  hispida.  These  flowers  are  succeeded 
by  pods,  very  large,  hard,  and  of  a  brownish,  or  cin- 
namon colour.  These  pods  contain  a  variable  num- 
ber of  roundish  seeds  or  beans,  compressed  on  the 
one  side,  and  covered  with  a  thin  loose  shell  of  a 
chesnut  colour;  when  roasted,  they  have  very  much 
the  flavour  of  chesnuts;  and  in  a  country  where 
edible  fruits  of  indigenous  growth  are  few,  they  are 
at  least  a  curiosity. 


We  have  thus  completed  a  rapid  sketch  of  the 
various  fruits  of  the  world.  As  the  commerce  of 
mankind  increases,  the  number  of  those  valuable  sub- 
stances which  we  may  secure  to  ourselves  by  cultiva- 
tion will  increase  also;  and,  at  the  same  time,  we 
shall  diffuse  our  own  vegetable  productions  over  the 
globe.  In  New  South  Wales  the  gardens  of  the 
settlers  are  rilled  with  the  plants  which  they  culti- 
vated in  their  native  country.  Colonization  univer- 
sally produces  this  good;  and  thus  the  intercourse 
of  mankind  may  in  time  make  the  world  one  vast 
garden,  in  which  all  the  blessings  of  a  bounteous 
Providence  shall  be  naturalized,  as  far  as  climate, 
or  the  science  of  man,  can  render  those  plants  com- 
mon to  all,  which  were  originally  the  property  of  a  few. 


